Westmeath pull away in second half to retain tier two status

Westmeath 1-29, Meath 0-14

By Gerry Buckley

Westmeath’s senior hurlers have retained their place in the Joe McDonagh Cup following a comfortable win against neighbours Meath in ideal conditions for hurling in TEG Cusack Park last Saturday afternoon, the Royal County men falling through the trapdoor and propping up the table as a result of this 18-point defeat in what was a largely forgettable game.

In truth, Westmeath were one of the favourites for the tier two championship trophy before the competition began and will now just be relieved to have avoided the ignominy of relegation to the Christy Ring Cup for 2025. Last Saturday’s display was satisfactory, rather than impressive, with Meath’s poverty in the second moiety allowing the home team’s superior class to tell, after the game appeared to have been in the balance at the interval.

Joe Fortune’s men were two points ahead with just 75 seconds on the clock, courtesy of youthful corner forwards David Williams and David O’Reilly. The latter soon doubled his tally before a brace of fine frees by Nicholas Potterton reduced the deficit to the bare minimum. O’Reilly completed an early points’ hat-trick in the seventh minute.

The respective number 11s, Killian Doyle and Tom Shine, traded points before O’Reilly’s fourth – and best – point. Steven Clynch’s charges went on to outscore their hosts by four points (Simon Ennis, Kris Gorman, a Potterton free, and James Murray) to one (a long-range effort from Tommy Doyle) to tie the contest at 0-7 apiece at the end of the opening quarter.

The lively Murray nudged Meath ahead for the first time in the 19th minute, but the maroon and white-clad side responded well by outscoring their neighbours by six points (the hard-working Peter Clarke, three from Killian Doyle – including two frees – Robbie Greville, and Aonghus Clarke) to one (Murray again) by the 25th minute.

Point exchanges ensued between Shine and Darragh Clinton, Éamon Óg Ó Donnchadha and Greville, and Gorman and Williams. The losers pointed in the very last action of the first half via centre half back James Kelly, his long-range shot hopping over the crossbar. Westmeath led by 0-16 to 0-13 at the break, at which stage their Joe McDonagh Cup fate looked far from secure.

However, Meath totally failed to replicate their earlier solid form in the second half, only scoring one point in the entire 36 minutes’ action, the score coming from midfielder Sean Geraghty in the 50th minute. Much of their shooting was dismal as they chalked up ten wides to add to six in the first half.

For their part, Westmeath never needed to hit anything close to the form which produced outstanding results against Tipperary and Limerick in the National League. They merely had to keep the scoreboard ticking over against mediocre opponents, and they did so with a degree of comfort by scoring an additional 1-13 in the second half.

Clinton pounced for the game’s only goal midway through the half, poking the sliotar to the net from point-blank range after great approach work by O’Reilly. The 13 points were shared between Killian Doyle (four – one each from a ‘65’ and a free, and two from play, including a marvellous improvised effort in the 54th minute), Owen McCabe (who put in a great shift on the day), O’Reilly (two), Williams (two – the second would have been a goal if Charlie Ennis had not produced a wonderful save), the impressive Clinton (three), and Peter Clarke.

Next Saturday will see Westmeath end their 2024 season in very anti-climatic fashion in TEG Cusack Park, when table-topping Joe McDonagh Cup finalists-in-waiting Laois are the visitors for what will be no more than a glorified challenge game for both counties.

Scorers - Westmeath: K Doyle 0-8 (3f, 1‘65’), D Clinton 1-4, D O’Reilly 0-6, D Williams 0-4, P Clarke, R Greville 0-2 each, T Doyle, A Clarke, O McCabe 0-1 each.

Meath: J Murray, N Potterton (3f) 0-3 each, T Shine, K Gorman 0-2 each, S Ennis, J Kelly, É Óg Ó Donnchadha, S Geraghty 0-1 each.

Westmeath: Noel Conaty; Conor Gaffney, Tommy Doyle, Johnny Bermingham; Darragh Egerton, Aonghus Clarke, Charlie McCormack; Peter Clarke, Kevin Regan; Owen McCabe, Killian Doyle, Robbie Greville; David Williams, Darragh Clinton, David O’Reilly. Subs used: Niall Mitchell for McCormack (39), Eoin Keyes for K Doyle (62), Aaron Craig for Egerton (65), Ciaran Doyle for McCabe (67).

Meath: Charlie Ennis; Michael Burke, Shane Whitty, Daire Shine; Simon Ennis, James Kelly, Kris Gorman; Seán Geraghty, Niall McLarnon; James Murray, Tom Shine, Mark Horan; Seán Quigley, Éamon Óg Ó Donnchadha, Nicholas Potterton. Subs used: Ronan Byrne for McLarnon (h-t), Damien Healy for S Ennis (50), David Murtagh for Quigley (58), Seán Martin for Horan (61), Ethan Devine for Geraghty (63).

Ref: James Clarke (Cavan).