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Championship wrap: Sweetest of days for Westmeath

Updated / Monday, 29 Jun 2015 17:42
Westmeath players celebrate at the final whistle after their thrilling win over Meath
Westmeath players celebrate at the final whistle after their thrilling win over Meath

What's rare is wonderful!

"Something special has happened in Croke Park this afternoon" was how RTÉ anlayst Tom Carr summed up Westmeath's first-ever championship victory over Meath. In what was the best football game of the summer so far, Westmeath had four points to spare at the end as they triumphed on a 3-19 to 2-18 scoreline and can now look forward to their first Leinster final appearance since 2004.  

At one stage in the first half, the Royals were up by 10 points, playing a direct brand of football that was pleasing on the eye. Bryan McMahon's two goals were wonderful strikes. The only negative was that Meath's shooting was a bit wayward. At the end of the day, those missed chances proved costly. 

However, Graham Reilly, who was one of Westmeath's tormentors in the first-half, was black-carded shortly after the break and the wheels began to come off the Royal wagon. 

John Heslin (1-09) and Kieran Martin (2-03) were central to the Westmeath revival and Martin's show of strength in dispatching his goals was one of the highlights of a memorable day in Croker. The Maryland clubman fired over the points that put the Lake County in front, before Heslin kept his cool to bury the ball past O’Rourke, celebrating with full knowledge of what the goal meant.

Meath also lost Donncha Tobin to a black card and then had goalkeeper Paddy O'Rourke sent off for a reckless challenge late on. Mick O'Dowd may have a job on his hands to pick the side up for the qualifiers.

For Westmeath, they can now look forward to having a crack at the Dubs on 12 July. It's a big ask for Tom Cribbin's side, but there's no doubt that they deserve their place in the decider.

Kieran Martin on Westmeath's win over Meath


Reflecting on the game afterwards, Kieran Martin told RTÉ Sport: "It means the world for Westmeath players and supporters to beat Meath. We’re going to go as far as we can. We’re going to keep pushing. In two weeks’ time, we’ll be out again."

On a personal level, Martin’s 2-03 was extremely impressive, but he was keen to stress the collective effort.

“It’s Westmeath on the scoreboard. It doesn’t matter if you score. The whole panel is in the Leinster final, and we just can’t wait for it.”

Dominant Dubs cast Lillies aside

We've seen it before and no doubt we'll see it again before the summer is out - Dublin footballers casting teams aside with consummate ease. Kildare were the latest victims, lacking any real direction and fire power to make their Leinster semi-final date with the Dubs in any way competitive.

Dublin have a very strong bench and Alan Brogan, with 0-03, certainly impressed when he came on. The 33-year-old still has much to contribute. Diarmuid Connolly gave a man-of-the-match display, with Bernard Brogan and Dean Rock also making their mark with some eye-catching scores.

Afterwards, Joe Brolly described Jim Gavin's charges as "a pleasure to watch" and added that "Their philosophy and honesty is totally admirable. If you're coaching youngsters - they are the role models"

Kildare now have six days to dust themselves down for their qualifier date away to Offaly.

Looking ahead to that game, Kildare manager Jason Ryan is expecting an interesting derby clash when he spoke to RTÉ Sport: "Quite a few of our players would have gone to school in Edenderry with the Offaly guys," said Ryan.

"There will be an awful lot of neighbouring rivalry in that game. This is a game that I imagine Pat Flanagan and a lot of the Offaly guys will imagine we are wounded, and that instead of being wounded and looking for a fight, they’ll be hoping we’re wounded and that we’ll be limping and won’t perform."

Donegal reappraisal 

No All-Ireland titles are won in June and maybe we read too much into Donegal's win over Armagh a fortnight ago. Against Derry on Saturday night in the Ulster semi-final, they were far from impressive and at one one point in the first half they went 20 minutes without scoring. In the second period, they had a barren period of 18 minutes. 

Martin O'Reilly's goal after 45 minutes proved to be crucial as Rory Gallagher's side prevailed by 1-09 to 0-10. Michael Murphy and Colm McFadden chipped in with points to keep Donegal's noses in front.

Derry, though, did have opportunities to win the game when they broke out of their defensive shell and will see this as a missed opportunity. Two black cards didn't help their cause either. They improved from their performance against Derry and can look forward to the next day with some optimism.

Donegal will have three weeks to get ready for Monaghan in the Ulster final. The Farney haven't exactly set the world on fire so far this summer but they'll be primed to give Gallagher's men their fill of it in Clones. It should be a fascinating contest. 

1B Qualifier round-up - Wexford stun Down

Down's season may be over earlier than expected but all credit to Wexford for their 2-16 to 2-11 victory over the Mourne County at Wexford Park.

Jerome Johnston netted Down's goal after 15 minutes. That, coupled with a black card for Wexford's Adrian Flynn, should have been the platform for the Ulster side to push on but it was the hosts who took a firm grip on the game. Three unanswered points before half-time pushed Wexford 0-09 to 1-04 clear at the break. 

A brace of goals inside 70 seconds from brothers Naomhán and Tiernan Rossiter on the resumption gave the home side an advantage they would not relinquish. A team consigned to Division 4 for 2016 putting one over on a top-tier outfit.

Elsewhere, Armagh had a somewhat flattering 2-17 to 2-07 win over Wicklow at the Athletic Grounds. What the losers will learn from the game is that they need a reliable free-taker for 2016. A spate of missed frees cost them dearly in a tie where they were competitive for long periods.

Even though they lost their two championship games this summer, Wicklow can take some positives and manager Johnny Magee has something to work on for next year.

Two late goals from Jame Clarke sealed the deal for the Orchard County. However, Kieran McGeeney will be concerned about his side's discipline in the tackle, and their vulnerability to the old fashioned high ball.

Louth overcame Leitrim in Drogheda by 1-15 to 0-11, with Conor Grimes' introduction from the bench having a telling effect as he got the only goal of the game after 48 minutes.

Grimes followed up that score with a wonderful left-footed point, proving he could step off the tackler and pick his spot as well as using his power to bulldoze through the back line.

Maybe it was the six-week break since their last outing against Donegal, but Tyrone were far from impressive in seeing off Limerick by 1-14 to 0-08 in their qualifier at Healy Park. 

The first half really failed to sparkle, with the Red Hand leading by 0-6 to 0-4. They did push on in the second period and scored four of the first five points by the 45th minute.

Conor McAliskey top-scored with six points for the victors. Sean Cavanagh landed the best point of the day four minutes from the end and then Peter Harte goaled to seal the deal for Mickey Harte's side. 

Tyrone will no doubt benefit from seeing action again and no team will want to face them in Round 2B.

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