End of the road as Royals crush Westmeath spirit

In what proved Tomás Ó Flatharta"s last game in charge, Westmeath bowed of the 2009 All-Ireland championship with a dismal defeat to Meath at a miserably wet Cusack Park, Mullingar last Saturday evening.After the 27-point hammering against Dublin in the Leinster semi-final, a first ever senior championship victory over Meath would have provided welcome redemption for Westmeath football. But although the home side battled valiantly in the first half, they didn"t have the quality or cohesion to really threaten Meath. And when man-of-the-match Joe Sheridan scored Meath"s goal in the 33rd minute, the Royal County"s passage to the third round of the qualifiers looked inevitable. Westmeath did manage to defeat Meath in the National Football League in Mullingar last year, but a similar result never looked likely on Saturday.This was the first time for the counties to clash in the championship since 2003, when the Royals eventually prevailed after a replay, but there was no hard luck stories from a Westmeath perspective on this occasion. In truth, Meath could have won by more. The visitors had nine wides in the first half and a total of 12 (compared to Westmeath"s five), and Gary Connaughton denied them a second goal on a couple of occasions.The Meath supporters" chant of "you"ll never bear the Royals" sadly rings true in Westmeath"s case, as the Lake County men are still awaiting their first senior championship victory over their neighbours after 22 meetings.It has been a great decade for Westmeath football - with a first ever Leinster title secured and three All-Ireland quarter-final appearances - but the curtain has well and truly come down on that memorable period.Tomás Ó Flatharta resigned as manager in the immediate aftermath of Saturday"s game and whoever is appointed as his successor will face a major rebuilding job. With many of the older guard likely to be considering retirement from inter-county football, the focus will have to be on developing young players.The Westmeath team showed three changes from that which started the Dublin match. Dessie Dolan made his first start in this year"s championship, David O"Shaughnessy was selected at midfield and Paul Sharry of St Loman"s made his debut at this level. Martin Flanagan, John Smyth and Fergal Wilson were the players to lose out, although all three were introduced from the bench.There was no official attendance figure provided but there was estimated that over 7,000 spectators paid in to see the game. With rain falling almost incessantly in the hours before throw-in, controlling the ball proved very difficult in the slippery conditions. The ball was skidding rapidly off the wet surface, and the early exchanges were particularly scrappy and error-ridden, although there was no lack of endeavour and tough tackling on both sides.After Dessie Dolan and Cian Ward were off target with long-range frees, Westmeath had a let-off when David Bray hit a free from the 13-metre line wide. Backed by the wind and, with Nigel Crawford prominent at midfield, Meath were dominating possession, but they were wasteful with their shooting. Even when Meath weren"t winning the kickouts cleanly, the vast majority of the breaks were being seized by players in green and gold. A rare Westmeath attack involving John Connellan, Conor Lynam and David O"Shaughnessy eventually saw the ball roll across the Meath goals and wide, with full-forward Paul Sharry unable to get a vital touch.The first score of the game eventually arrived in the 16th minute, Peadar Byrne finding the target after the Westmeath defence failed to clear their lines. Westmeath responded with what was probably their best move of the match. Starting with good interplay in defence between Derek Heavin and Francis Boyle, Doran Harte, Michael Ennis and Denis Glennon were also involved, paving the way for John Connellan to slot over Westmeath"s first score in the 17th minute.Moments later, a wonderfully committed and fair shoulder challenge by Dessie Dolan forced Meath centre-back Cormac McGuinness into conceding a "45, but the resulting deadball was wasted by John Connellan. Dolan, who started at wing-forward although wearing No 11, was putting in a huge work-rate but, once again, most of his work was done far away from the opposition goals.In the 19th minute, Meath full-forward Brian Farrell fired a low shot across the goal and Westmeath were highly fortunate not to be well in arrears at this stage. Eamonn O"Brien"s charges regained the lead in the 21st minute when Cian Ward got his name on the scoresheet from a "45, and Stephen Bray quickly added another point. On 23 minutes, David Duffy followed up Doran Harte"s shot at goals and, although a goal chance briefly looked on, the Shandonagh midfielder swept the ball over the bar from close range.Then Gary Connaughton pulled off a fine save from a punched effort by Joe Sheridan, and John Keane blocked Sheridan"s follow-up at the expense of a "45. Cian Ward converted his second "45 of the game to put Meath 0-4 to 0-2 ahead. Meath No 14 Brian Farrell, who had been enduring a frustrating day with his shooting, was substituted in the 29th minute, but Joe Sheridan would go on to wreak havoc from the full-forward position.The Westmeath goal had been living a charmed existence but the home side"s luck ran out in the 33rd minute when Stephen Bray launched the ball towards the "square". This time Sheridan"s flick found the net. An injured Kieran Gavin was replaced by Willie Murtagh and the full-back"s absence would be keenly felt later in the game. In the 35th minute, Westmeath centre-back Derek Heavin surged forward and hit an inspirational point, but Meath"s impressive wing-back Seamus Kenny also joined his side"s attack to raise a white flag just before the interval. Although at least two minutes of injury-time were announced, referee Martin Sludden (who had a fine game overall in appalling weather conditions) blew the half-time whistle after just one additional minute, with Meath leading 1-5 to 0-3.Within a couple of minutes of the restart, David Bray passed the ball inside to Joe Sheridan who blasted over a point. It was a portent of what was to come. After Westmeath introduced Martin Flanagan at full-forward, Sheridan came very close to scoring his second goal, hitting a snapshot off the crossbar. The Seneschalstown man was giving Donal O"Donoghue a torrid time and, after setting up Stephen Bray for a point, Sheridan added another himself. Michael Ennis was then moved to full-back to mark Sheridan (John Keane would subsequently become at least the fourth player to be given the task of policing the Meath attacker). Two pointed frees by Cian Ward saw Meath go ten points clear (1-10 to 0-3) by the 47th minute.There seemed a slim possibility of Westmeath mounting a comeback when Martin Flanagan showed his goalscoring instincts in the 49th minute, as he punched a free dropped in by Dessie Dolan to the bottom corner of the net. A minute later, the deficit was reduced to six points after Denis Glennon set up Conor Lynam for a point, although there was a hint of a goal chance.At the other end, Joe Sheridan continued to threaten and when he pulled first time on a loose ball, Gary Connaughton had to produce a brilliant fingertip save, at the expense of a point. Then a David Duffy attempt at goal looked to have gone wide, but a "45 was awarded and Martin Flanagan pointed to leave Meath"s lead at six points once more.However, Westmeath would not score for the remainder as Meath embellished their victory with four unanswered points. The first two were scored by Cian Ward (the first a free and the second a delightful effort from play), with the superb Sheridan and Peadar Byrne completing the scoring.The Westmeath management opted to replace Denis Glennon, shortly after he picked up a yellow card for dissent, a mystifying decision if the home side harboured any hopes of getting back into the game. But, in truth, the die was cast in any case.With Meath enjoying such a healthy lead, they could afford to drop midfielder Nigel Crawford in front of Martin Flanagan, and Westmeath"s attempts to score what would have been a consolation goal were comfortably thwarted.While Meath march on to a third round clash against the winners of Roscommon v Wexford, Westmeath are left to reflect on a disastrous season as the county now faces a transition period.Bruce Springsteen was performing in Dublin last weekend and, in one of his most enduringly popular songs "Dancing In The Dark", he says "you can"t start a fire without a spark".The Westmeath senior football team has been unable to find any kind of "spark" this year, and it"s going to be a huge challenge to make the county a competitive force again.Scorers - Meath: J. Sheridan 1-4; C. Ward 0-6 (3f, 2 "45s); S. Bray, P. Byrne 0-2 each; S. Kenny 0-1; Westmeath: M. Flanagan 1-1 (0-1 "45); J. Connellan, D. Duffy, D. Heavin, C. Lynam 0-1 each.Meath: Paddy O"Rourke; Chris O"Connor, Anthony Moyles, Eoghan Harrington; Seamus Kenny, Cormac McGuinness, Caomhín King; Nigel Crawford, Brian Meade; Peadar Byrne, Joe Sheridan, Stephen Bray (capt.); David Bray, Brian Farrell, Cian Ward. Subs: Jamie Queeney for Farrell (29 mins); Barry Regan for McGuinness (63); Michael Burke for Kenny (65); Shane McAnarney for S. Bray (68); Mark Ward for Meade (69).Westmeath: Gary Connaughton; Kieran Gavin, John Keane (capt.), Donal O"Donoghue; Derek Heavin, Francis Boyle, Michael Ennis; David O"Shaughnessy, David Duffy; Dessie Dolan, Denis Glennon, Doran Harte; John Connellan, Paul Sharry, Conor Lynam. Subs: Willie Murtagh for Gavin (injured, 34 mins); Martin Flanagan for Sharry (38); John Smyth for Harte (42); Fergal Wilson for Connellan (55); Denis Corroon for Glennon (58).Referee: Martin Sludden (Tyrone).