Dublin have secured a place in the All-Ireland Football Championships quarter-finals with a comprehensive 3-23 to 0-8 victory over Sligo this afternoon in Breffni Park.

The high-scoring tally means the Dubs top the group ahead of Roscommon while Sligo are eliminated from the competition. It was always going to be a difficult task for the Magpies and they were well beaten against a more clinical Dublin side than we have seen so far this season.

Despite the score difference, the opening few minutes in Cavan were competitive. Paddy Small opened the scoring with early free but great points from Darragh Cummins and Sean Carrabine meant Sligo were well in the game after 15 minutes.

After some sloppy Dublin play with skewed passes and several wides, a goal from Con O’Callaghan kicked the Boys in Blue into gear. On 18 minutes, a long accurate ball from Niall Scully found Paddy Small. The Ballymun Kickhams man bursts towards the goal and very selflessly fed Con O’Callaghan to slot home from close range.

The goal was a perfect way for the Dubs to avenge a point that was denied to Lee Gannon two minutes before after a bizarre decision to call the effort wide which appeared to go comfortably between the posts. The Dubs had the grit between the teeth from then on and racked up several unanswered points.

The Dublin press caused Sligo all sorts of problems and racked up six points without response by pressing high for Aidan Devaney’s goal kicks. Sligo did have a great goal chance in the meantime, however. Pat Spillane found himself in a great position down the right-hand side of the box but he dragged his shot wide of the far post when he really should have tested Cluxton.

Dublin started the second half just like they finished the first, on the front foot. Colm Basquel led the charge with an early point before finding the back of the net. Dublin followed that up with another goal just minutes later thanks to some lovely play by Basquel who set up Eoin Murchan to get Dublin’s third goal of the afternoon.

The Boys in Blue continued to add to their tally as the second half progressed. Paddy Small racked up five points throughout as did the prolific Con O’Callaghan to add to his first-half goal. The impressive Lee Gannon got three points from wing back while Paul Mannion got two after his introduction in the second half.

The high-scoring win was not the only thing for the travelling Dublin fans to cheer about, Jack McCaffrey made his return from injury as a substitute after picking up a hamstring injury in last month's Leinster final victory against Louth. McCaffrey’s return will be a welcome boost for the Dubs who top group three thanks to Kildare’s victory over Roscommon tonight.

Dessie O’Farrell will welcome a break for his Dublin side who progress straight into the quarter-finals of the Sam Maguire Cup and avoid a preliminary round. With a comprehensive victory today, the Boys in Blue certainly answered some critics and have staked their championship ambitions albeit against a weaker Sligo side.

For Tony McEntee and his Sligo team, today’s result brings down the curtain on their inter-county campaign. With a Division 4 title win and a respectable championship campaign, Sligo will have plenty to build on for next season but today were well beaten by a far superior Dublin side.