Armagh blitz wasteful Westmeath with powerful second half

Armagh 2-17, Westmeath 0-8

There was knockout fever in Kinnegad ahead of this tier two clash on a sun-drenched Saturday afternoon as both counties, after provincial quarter-final exits to Monaghan and Louth respectively, were seeking to extend their summer.

In the end Westmeath made a very tame exit having managed just eight points and it put a damper on things after a positive display against Louth in their recent Leinster quarter-final clash.

After Westmeath trailed by two at half-time, Armagh burst out of the blocks in the second-half, and pushed out their lead to eleven points by the 43rd minute, as the 15 overall wides caught up with the Leinster men and the heads dropped in despair for a season cut short.

Keelan McEntee pointed after just 35 seconds for Armagh, and teammate Ronan Martin scored three minutes later before Finn Higgin’s got Westmeath up and running after six minutes elapsed.

Will Scahill converted three of the hosts remaining four points of the half, two from frees, while Sean Graham also converted for the Lake County. Armagh meanwhile got a further spread of scorers before the opening half ended; Keelan McEntee, Ryan Dynes, Harry Fearon, Odhrán Reel and Thomas Olarte all contributed to the Orchard’s 0-7 to 0-5 interval lead. Westmeath left scores behind them though; six wides and a goal chance squandered in first-half added-time, when Will Scahill fed Finn Higgins, who carried the ball for too long close to goal, preventing a go at the net.

The only second-half scores for Westmeath came from Sean Graham from play on 37 minutes and Will Scahill from a two-pointed free a minute later. Ronan Martin pointed only 30 seconds into the second-half to signal what was to come. The orchard men played at a greater pace, constantly running off the shoulder, as the Westmeath heads began to drop and the intensity in defence fell apart.

Odhrán Reel and Thomas Olarte came before Gavin O’Rourke’s goal in the 36th minute, when the ball was squared to him by Peter Keegan before riffling it home. Further points from Daithi O’Callaghan and Ronan Martin piled on more misery before Harry Fearon struck gold in the 43rd minute when he bypassed an outrushing John Paul to nestle the ball into an empty net.

Westmeath began to fall apart from here, as they couldn’t withstand the intense Armagh pressure. Peter Keegan scored moments after the goal while Odhrán Reel converted a lovely two-pointer two minutes later. Keelan McEntee and substitute Tiarnan O’Neill would also point before the game concluded.

Armagh march on, while Westmeath bow out with a whimper, knowing that there should have been a much better performance in them.

Scorers - Armagh: Harry Fearon 1-1, Odhrán Reel 0-4 (1 two-pointer), Gavin O’Rourke 1-0, Keelan McEntee and Ronan Martin 0-3 each, Thomas Olarte 0-2, Daithi O’Callaghan, Ryan Dynes, Peter Keegan and Tiarnan O’Neill 0-1 each.

Westmeath: Will Scahill 0-5 (0-2frees, 1 two-pointer free), Sean Graham 0-2, Finn Higgins 0-1.

Armagh: Padráig Finn; Tomas Fox, Gavin O’Rourke, Donncha Aherne; Brendan Ferreira, Cormac Murphy, Conal Wilson; Daithi O’Callaghan, Keelan McEntee; Thomas Olarte, Peter Keegan, Ryan Dynes; Odhrán Reel, Harry Fearon, Ronan Martin.

Substitutes: Tiarnan O’Neill for Thomas Olarte, Danny McGurgan for Ronan Martin and Jarlath O’Neill for Peter Keegan (51), Fergal Conlon for Gavin O’Rourke and Ciaran McCann for Keelan McEntee (59).

Westmeath: John Paul; Anthony King, Eoin Donoghue, Sean Keegan; Conor Casey, Sean Byrne, Ross Tully; Cian Fleming, Rory McCaul; Finn Higgins, Will Scahill, Sean Whittaker; Stephen McWade, Dillon Burke, Sean Graham.

Substitutes: Dean Kelly for Finn Higgins (40), Jack Duignan for Rory McCaul (45), Willie Geraghty for Sean Whittaker (50), Sean Mackey for Ross Tully and Tom O’Brien for Will Scahill (51).

Referee: Eamon O’Connor (Offaly), replaced by Fergal Smyth (Offaly) 21.