Composed Kerry outclass battling Westmeath footballers

It really was a weekend to forget for Westmeath"s inter county footballers. Fresh from a provincial Under 21 semi-final defeat to Dublin on Saturday.A number of the jaded Under 21 squad travelled south with their senior inter county colleagues to take on Munster kingpins Kerry in this vital Allianz Division One League clash in Austin Stack Park.Westmeath"s search for vital points to stave off relegation was fruitless however. A devastating second half performance by the table toppers saw Kerry maintain their one hundred per cent League record with a comfortable nine point winning margin.Westmeath made two changes to their listed starting fifteen with Dermot Bannon coming in for Francis Spollen and John Smyth replacing Paul Bannon. The Westmeath management were forced into further action during a hectic opening first half. Injuries and tactical necessity saw the selectors make three switches in personnel.Kieran Galvin made way for Thomas McDaniel, Paul Bannon replaced Niall Kilcoyne and Keith Scally came in for Alan Claffey. The reason for much of this chopping and changing was the growing influence of Kerry"s two key performers, Seamus Scanlon and the indestructible Kieran Donaghy. A number of different players were tried to curb the giant full forward"s influence but Donaghy remained a threat throughout.The Midlanders played with the aid of the breeze in the first half and made a promising start to the game. Dennis Glennon ploughed a lone furrow up front however as the shot shy remaining Westmeath forward line offered the Tyrrellspass clubman little support.Donnacha Walsh, who captained Kerry for the first time, opened the scoring in the 3rd minute but Westmeath, thanks two Glennon points and a fine effort from wing back Doran Harte had the visitors 0-3 to 0-1 in front by the 15th minute. Kerry were guilty of wasting a number of chances even though they enjoyed the majority of possession due to the dominance of Scanlon at midfield and the marauding Kerry halfback line.Three points from Kieran O"Leary, Seamus Scanlon and Paul O"Connor edged Kerry in front after twenty six minutes but Westmeath, thanks to a couple of Glennon frees, led 0-5 to 0-4 at the interval.Kerry introduced Darran O"Sullivan for Tommy Walsh after the interval while David Moran was introduced as a late first half substitute for the injured Maher. Westmeath lost midfielder David Duffy for a farcical Yellow card after an innocuous just 30 seconds into second half. Moran and Scanlon completely took over at midfield in Duffy"s absence and began to supply a better quality of delivery into Kieran Donaghy who became more and more influential in the game.Westmeath continued to press however and were unlucky not to score a goal when Scanlon scooped a Glennon goal bound effort off the line in the 40th minute. Paul O"Connor levelled the scores with a pointed free. Donaghy punched a point and Darran O"Sullivan crashed a goal bound shot off the crossbar before Glennon tapped over Westmeath"s solitary second half score from a 47th minute free.Tomas O"Se restored Kerry"s lead with a 48th minute trademark point. Darran and Sean O"Sullivan stroked over points to hand Kerry a three-point lead.Westmeath displayed great fighting qualities and continued to carry the fight to the clearly superior Kerry men. Francis Boyle was body checked after a wonderful surging run by Donnacha Walsh in the square and the referee Maurice Deegan pointed to the spot immediately. Walsh was rather harshly awarded a yellow card in yet another example of the inconsistencies of the League"s new rules.Dennis Glennon struck the vital spot kick well but dragged the shot wide of Ger Reidy"s right hand post. It was a blow from which Westmeath failed to recover. Heads immediately dropped by the visitors and Kerry took maximum advantage of their reprieve.Bryan Sheehan came in and converted a "45 before Kerry were awarded a penalty of their own when Donaghy was felled in the box. All-star keeper Gary Connaughton saved superbly from Paul O"Connor. He leapt low to his right and tipped the goal bound shot around the post. Kerry continued to press and finally got a reward for their relentless attacking. Paul O"Connor set up Donaghy who grabbed the game"s only goal. The game was over as a contest and Kerry sauntered to their fifth straight League win in a row.Tomás Ó Flatharta must have looked on with envy at the end of the game at Jack O"Connor"s evident embarrassment of riches. The Kerry manager could afford to make eight switches to the side that defeated Mayo, had the added bonus of a returning Darragh Ó Sé to training last week while Ó Flatharta was forced to play some of his 21 players who were playing their fourth competitive game in the space of 9 days.Ó Flatharta spoke admiringly after the game of Kerry"s strength in depth in comparison to his own thread bare squad. 'We lost Kieran Gavin through injury in the first half and then lost Dave Duffy from the throw in for a very harsh yellow card. Then we had six players from yesterday"s Under 21"s and they obviously tired. Kerry seem to be falling over themselves with players at the moment, they have so much talent and it illustrates the difference in the depth of talent in both counties. We were a little unlucky. Had we scored the penalty then I think we could have got something out of the game but it wasn"t to be. After the missed opportunity Kerry had the strength to pull away.'Kerry manager Jack O"Connor was delighted with Kerry"s win but felt the award of a yellow card to Dave Duffy was very harsh and that the margin of victory was a little flattering. ' I thought that David Duffy was very unlucky to receive a yellow card. All he was doing was jumping up for a throw in. If you had a man sent off for that in championship there would be pandemonium. We probably didn"t deserve to win the game by the margin that we did but we are very happy with the nature of this performance.'Scorers: Kerry - K. Donaghy 1-1, P. O"Connor 0-3 (0-2 frees), B. Sheehan 0-2 (0-1 free, 0-1 "45), T. Ó Sé, S. Scanlon, D. Walsh, K. O"Leary, Darran O"Sullivan and S. O"Sullivan 0-1 each. Westmeath - D. Glennon 0-5 (0-3 frees), D. Harte 0-1.Kerry: Ger Reidy; Kieran Quirke, Aidan O"Shea, Tom O"Sullivan; Tomás Ó Sé, Aidan O"Mahony, Tommy Griffin; Seamus Scanlon, Anthony Maher; Tadhg Kennelly, Tommy Walsh, Donnacha Walsh; Kieran O"Leary, Kieran Donaghy, Paul O"Connor. Subs: David Moran for A Maher (32 mins); Darran O"Sullivan for T. Walsh (h-t); Sean O"Sullivan for K. O"Leary (47); Brian Sheehan for D. Walsh (yellow card, 58); Brian Moran for A. O"Mahony (64); Maurice Corridan for T. Griffin (64).Westmeath: Gary Connaughton; Alan Claffey, Kieran Gavin, John Keane; Francis Boyle, Derek Heavin, Doran Harte; Niall Kilcoyne, David Duffy; Michael Ennis, John Smyth, Conrad Reilly; Dermot Bannon, Denis Glennon, Conor Lynam. Subs: Paul Bannon for N. Kilcoyne (23 mins); Keith Scally for A. Claffey (25); Thomas McDaniel for K. Gavin (26); Anthony Clinton for D. Duffy (yellow card, 36); Paul Kelly for C. Reilly (56); K. Gavin for C. Lynam (60).Referee: Maurice Deegan (Laois).