It's not just because of the number of Kildare inter-county players they have or the trademark short game or even because they play in those same pristine white shirts, that Clane's performance in yesterday's AIB Leinster club football final was so reminiscent of Kildare.

No, it was more the failure to perform on the big day that raised the spectre of the sort of performance that the county team did so much to exorcise this year. Serial wides in the second half and a penalty attempt that dribbled feebly wide just before half-time were the most telling signs of regression as form was slightly upset at Navan yesterday when Erin's Isle became the third Dublin club this decade to lift the title.

That the final never really took off as a match was a tribute to the control exerted by the Finglas side throughout the afternoon as well a commentary on Clane's hapless inability to take the chances that could have kept their hopes alive.

Although three players were sent off, the match featured little enough in the way of ugly incidents. Erin's Isle's full back, J J O'Keeffe walked for a second bookable offence. It was his second dismissal in two matches in the Leinster championship.

In the second minute of injury time, Charlie Redmond and Kevin McLoughlin also got the line after a scatter broke out which briefly involved participants from the cast of thousands both clubs appeared to have assembled on the sideline.

Although he complained that Denis O'Connell had been hit on the back of the head, Clane's player-manager Tom Cribben emphasised afterwards the pressures of the occasion.

"Things overheat in a situation like that. A Leinster final. Sure lads would give their right arm to win a Leinster medal and I don't blame Charlie Redmond or anyone else for that matter when things heat up."

A strong wind blew throughout the match and the Dubliners coped far better with the conditions in both halves. Their superiority was, however, based on more than merely their facility in dealing with the elements. Both the full forward and full back lines made a huge contribution to the winners' success.

In defence, Keith Murray at corner back had a fine match, marking his opponents with claustrophobic effect and making vital interceptions in both halves. At the other end of the field, the Isle's inside three - who had helped themselves to 5-18 in the first round against Old Leighlin of Carlow - scored 2-4 of the team's total.

In addition to this productivity, full forward Robbie Boyle played a prominent role in keeping the match within the team's grasp in the second half when he made himself available for ball in deep positions and carried it forward to give relief at stages when Clane's wind-assisted assaults were crashing down in waves on the Isle goal.

Midfield was also a significant sector for the team. Keith and Johnny Barr ran the show in the first half and even after the interval when Martin Lynch's auxilliary presence helped Clane to greatly improved possession, Keith Barr instituted some telling breaks, whereas Johnny Barr's defensive play was highlighted by two great goalmouth clearances.

Despite their abundance of inter-county talent, Clane were always chasing the match once their first-minute point advantage had been eliminated by their opponents' first goal. Robbie Boyle was brought down for a penalty which was converted by Ciaran O'Hare.

Clane kept in touch with points and even edged ahead, but they received a mortal wound in the 13th minute when Johnny Barr launched a high ball that was badly defended and culminated in Niall Crossan slipping in for a goal. Points from Boyle and two from Redmond pushed the Dublin champions into a six-point lead, 2-5 to 0-5, at halftime, just before which Paul McLoughlin failed with the penalty after Paul McCormack had been flattened in front of goal.

Dublin veteran Mick Deegan said afterwards that the team had been well prepared for the afternoon. "We weren't worried about the wind because we'd played in conditions like that in the semi-final, wet and windy. Clane started well running the ball at us and we had to cope with that because they play like the county team so we had to hit hard and keep working. But we're a second-half team and I thought as a team we were tremendous today."

That teamwork was decisive in the second half but only after Clane had frittered away good chances early on. Not alone did the Isle defence work hard, with Deegan himself prominent, but they also hit hard on the counter-attack.

Paudge Cunningham at centre forward delivered a valuable performance after the interval and his three points constituted half the team's total in that period. As the match slipped towards its conclusion, Clane briefly threatened a comeback and scored a goal in the 56th minute.

Player-manager Cribben finished off a slick midfield move by finishing a pass from Willie McCreery to the net. Despite this encouragement, Clane managed only one further score. At the very end, while the melee broke out, McCreery, almost unnoticed, added their final point.

Erin's Isle: T Quinn; K Murray, JJ O'Keeffe, K Spratt (capt); D Collins, M Deegan, G O'Connell; K Barr, J Barr; C Redmond (0-4, three frees), P Cunningham (0-3), E Barr; C O'Hare (1-2, goal from penalty, one free), R Boyle (0-2), N Crossan (1-0). Subs: F Browne for Crossan (56 mins); S McCormack for Cunningham (61 mins).

Clane: P Kilkenny; B Connolly, J Finn, K McLoughlin; K McDonald, T Cribben (1-0), B Cahill (0-1); B Murphy (0-1), W McCreery (0-1); P McCormack (0-2), P McLoughlin (0-5, four frees), M Lynch; B O'Donovan, D O'Connell (0-1), J Chatten. Subs: M Conneff for Chatten (half-time); D Cafferty for O'Donovan (39 mins); A Behan for McDonald (60 mins).

Referee: P McGann (Westmeath).