Cork were strong favourites to triumph against Westmeath at Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Sunday afternoon and so it proved as they won by 33 points.
Seven goals for Kieran Kingston's side kept them unbeaten after three Allianz Hurling League Division 1 Group A games, sending them to Limerick in a fortnight in confident mood and there was a lot to be happy with for the Rebels, once a sloppy start had been overcome.
Leading by 3-14 to 0-09 at half-time, Cork reeled off 4-05 without reply by the time Josh Coll got Westmeath’s first score of the second half – one of five for the wing-forward – but, apart from the very early stages where the Lake County led twice, the home side’s superiority was never in doubt.
While Davy Glennon and Killian Doyle helped Westmeath to a positive start, Cork hit the front as Alan Connolly got the first of his two goals, benefiting from a good ball by Daire Connery, and they never trailed thereafter
Westmeath’s task was made harder by the fact that they lost former Galway player Glennon and Niall O’Brien to injury inside the opening 21 minutes.
Cork led by 1-4 to 0-4 at the water-break but pushed up on Westmeath’s puckout in the wake of that and had pushed 1-9 to 0-7 in front before Luke Meade got their second goal after a lovely move involving captain Patrick Horgan, Seán O’Leary Hayes and Shane Barrett.
The third goal came from Horgan on 34 minutes, with Connery and Connolly the architects, and four unanswered points had them 14 clear at the break.
With two minutes of the start of the second half, Barrett and Horgan had added further goals and Fitzgibbon’s second point made it 5-17 to 0-9 before Alan Cadogan raised a sixth green flag on 41.
Connolly did brilliantly to touch home a pass from debutant Simon Kennefick on 50 minutes and it was 7-19 to 0-9 by the time of the water-break.
Coll eventually got Westmeath to 0-10 and sub Ciarán Doyle contributed two points for them Cork replacements Brian Turnbull and Seán Lordan were also on target as they finished with 11 different scorers.
Cork : Ger Collins; Seán O’Leary Hayes (0-01), Eoin Cadogan, Seán O’Donoghue; Tim O’Mahony (0-02), Niall Cashman, Robert Downey (0-01); Darragh Fitzgibbon (0-02), Daire Connery (0-03, 0-02 frees); Conor Cahalane (0-01), Luke Meade (1-02), Shane Barrett (1-03); Alan Connolly (2-01), Patrick Horgan (2-04, 0-2 frees), Alan Cadogan (1-04).
Subs: Tadgh Deasy for Meade, Simon Kennefick for Horgan (both 41), James O’Flynn for O’Mahony (48), Bill Cooper for Fitzgibbon (52), Brian Turnbull (0-02 frees) for Alan Cadogan (53), Seán Twomey (0-01) for Connolly (54), Daniel Meaney for Connery (56).
Westmeath : Eoin Skelly; Darragh Egerton, Tommy Doyle, Brendan Doyle; Aaron Craig (0-01), Aonghus Clarke (0-01), Shane Clavin; Joey Boyle, Alan Cox; Niall O’Brien, Killian Doyle (0-05, 0-04 frees), Robbie Greville; Davy Glennon (0-01), Niall Mitchell, Josh Coll (0-05).
Subs: Eoghan Ahearn for O’Brien (9, injured), Ciarán Doyle (0-02) for Glennon (21, injured), Shane Williams for Ahearn (48), Conor Shaw for Doyle (58), Kevin Regan for Brendan Doyle, Peadar Scally for Craig (both 63).
Referee: Thomas Walsh (Waterford).
