Minors gutted as scoring surge sees Faithful home

Leinster MHC: Offaly 0-16, Westmeath 0-14 -- Defeat from the jaws of victory was the simplest way to explain this giveaway as Westmeath spurned the chance of a Leinster semi final spot.Down by three points at the break Offaly totally outplayed Westmeath in the second half to win this Leinster quarter final in Cusack Park Mullingar on Saturday afternoon last. Offaly only scored 5 points in the first half, two of them frees from Stephen Quirke but after the break they totally took over and the move of midfielder Adrian Hynes to the edge of the square proved pivotal as his three point haul brought his side back into the match while Quirkes unerring accuracy from the dead ball kept the score board ticking and once they went ahead on 44 minutes they always looked as if they had the measure of the Lake County boys. Westmeath visibly wilted as the game went on and when they began to lose the midfield battle early in that second moiety then they were always on the back foot. They depended far too much on wing forward Aonghus Clarke who scored 9 points, 2 from play and the attack that had been so potent in the opening game against Laois were not to be seen on this occasion.Offaly got the ball rolling when Quirke pointed a free but two good Westmeath scores in a row from Joey Boyle and Aonghus Clarke put Westmeath ahead again. Niall O'Brien spurned a great chance for Westmeath shortly afterward and but a converted free from his own 65 yard line by Anthony Price had the maroon and white faithful on their feet again. Quirke pulled one back for Offaly from another free but an Aonghus Clarke converted free nullified that. Clarke added another free after some sterling work by full back Thomas Doyle but the defence then gave away a simple score to Offaly midfielder Adrian Hynes. Clarke restored the three point advantage from a superb tip down by Cathal Scally and seconds later David Fennell scored an inspirational point from his own catch on the halfway lien and Westmeath led by 4.Aodhan Kealey pulled one back for Offaly with a well taken point from a narrow angle but Westmeath midfielder Aaron Craig restored the 4 point advantage with the score of the half. Westmeath could have had a goal moments later after a wonderful mazy run by Clarke went off the post and on the break Offaly were similarly denied when Thomas Carroll's effort rebounded off the upright and fell to Sean Cleary who somehow managed to flick the ball over the bar when it looked easier to goal and it left the half time score 0-8n to 0-5 in Westmeath's favourClarke got the first point of the second half from a free and then he and Stephen Quirke exchanged frees again as the game became scrappy.Offaly then hit a purple patch with 5 unanswered scores , two superb strikes by Adrian Hynes, Tow Quirke frees and another from play by Quirke that could easily have been a goal. A Clarke free levelled matters but the game was running away from Westmeath and points from Sean Cleary and a Quirke free pushed Offaly two ahead. Niall O'Brien pulled one back for Westmeath with a super score but they could not draw level and a wonderful Cleary point restored Offaly's two point cushion. Two Clarke frees levelled matters when under extreme pressure but they were papering over the cracks and two late Quirke frees settled matters as Westmeath faded badly in the dying momentsOffaly rallied superbly when under pressure and the painful defeat to Wexford was erased by a display of determination and that grit that one associates with Offaly teams but Westmeath will wonder how they went from cruise control to near panic stations in such a short period of time and they finished mentally and physically more drained than their opponents in front of a very partisan home crowd.There was no denying Offaly and even when Westmeath drew level with just two minutes to go, they dug deep again and simply over powered a fading Westmeath who looked to have shot their bolt too early.ScorersOffaly: Stephen Quirke 0-9 7 frees 1 65', Adrian Hynes and Sean Cleary 0-3 each, Aodhan Kealey 0-1Westmeath: Aeonghus Clarke 0-9 6 frees 1 65', David Fennell, Anthony Price (free), Aaron Craig, Niall O'Brien and Joseph Boyle 0-1 eachOffaly: Conor Clancy, Michael Cleary, Pat Camon, Simon Og Lyons, Brendan Murphy, Shane McKelve, David King, Adrian Hynes, Peter Geraghty, Sean Cleary, Aodhan Kealey, Patrick Murphy, Stephen Quirke, Thomas Carroll, Eoin Ryan subs: Joe O'Connor for Geraghty 29 mins, Thomas Geraghty for Patrick Murphy 52 mins, Donal Morkan for O'Connor 59 minsWestmeath: Niall Kelly, Enda Kincaid, Thomas Doyle, Tommy Gallagher, David Fennell, Anthony Price, Kelvin Reilly, Aaron Craig, Shane Fagan, Aeonghus Clarke, Cathal Scally, Glen Flynn, Niall O'Brien, David Higgins, Joseph Boyle subs: David Gavin for Flynn 42 mins, David McCormack for Kincaid 52 minsReferee Sean Cleere, Kilkenny.