Kildare 0-12 Westmeath 0-15
Westmeath inflicted a third consecutive league defeat of the season on a lacklustre Kildare side as they recorded a 0-15 to 0-12 victory in Newbridge.
Leading by 0-08 to 0-05 at half-time after a dominant first-half display, the visitors finished in style with three late points to keep the home side at bay.
Midfielder John Heslin finished the game with six points from frees, which proved crucial.
Goalkeeper Gary Connaughton played an instrumental road for Westmeath, pulling off a string of fine saves.
Kildare only led once in the game, after Fergal Conway pointed in the opening minute. Westmeath responded with four points on the trot to take control by the end of the opening quarter. Top scorer Heslin pointed two of his six frees in that spell and he added two more before the end of the half as Westmeath moved three clear at the interval.
The Lilywhites only had two points on the board in the opening 25 minutes. They missed a host of chances but their opponents' counter-attacking style caused the hosts all sorts of problems, and if anything Tom Cribbin's should have been further in front at the break.
Kildare upped the ante after halftime and almost got in for a goal after the restart. Midfielder Padraig O’Neill cut in behind the Westmeath defence but Gary Connaughton came to the rescue, smothering O’Neill’s shot.
Westmeath maintained their advantage with some impressive points from Denis Glennon but Kildare were starting to dominate around the middle. By the 54th minute, they had reduced the deficit to the minimum after points from Eoghan O’Flaherty and sub Padraig Fogarty.
With the game in the melting point, Kildare failed to make the most of their chances. They finished the second half with 14 missed shots while Connaughton made another fabulous save to deny Fionn Dowling a goal.
After a nervous third quarter, the Lake County regained their composure in the closing stages. John Heslin kept them ahead with a free and they then reeled off three points without reply in five minutes to leave Kildare trailing by four.
Shane Dempsey and Lorcan Smyth scored from play while Heslin converted his sixth free to put the game beyond Kildare.
Westmeath now head to Navan on Saturday full of confidence for their derby clash against Meath.
Kildare manager Jason Ryan faces an uphill task as his team battle to avoid relegation. Their third successive defeat of the campaign leaves Ryan desperate for points with three away fixtures to come, beginning against Cavan next Saturday.
