Westmeath hit five goals to reach O'Byrne Cup decider

Westmeath 5-10, Offaly 2-8

Westmeath will contest the O’Byrne Cup final for the first time since 2019 after a comfortable win over neighbours Offaly in last Saturday’s semi-final at TEG Cusack Park.

This victory came after the previous Wednesday night’s win over Leinster champions Louth and while nobody will be getting carried away about results in the O’Byrne Cup, there were plenty of positives from Westmeath’s perspective.

Danny McCartan and Brandon Kelly scored two goals each, with substitute Senan Baker raising Westmeath's other green flag as the home side ran out winners of this local derby by 11 points.

Westmeath put together some fine attacking moves with established figures such as Ronan Wallace (scorer of 0-3 from play), Luke Loughlin and Matthew Whittaker to the fore. Promising defenders Tadhg Baker and Danny Scahill boosted their chances of starting places in future outings, while midfielder Harry Niall (Moate All Whites) and the aforementioned Senan Baker made a notable impact off the bench.

Despite a clear-cut victory in the end, an area of concern for Westmeath was the way they struggled to win primary possession at midfield from kickouts. Offaly midfielder Jack McEvoy made two fine catches from kickouts in the first half and it was notable that Westmeath goalie Jason Daly opted to go short with a number of his restarts.

Offaly won plenty of ball in the midfield sector and they registered 11 wides (some from ambitious two-pointer attempts) and kicked a number of efforts short into the arms of Daly. On another day, an opponent would have translated such possession into more scores on the board and put Westmeath under greater pressure.

Overall, though, it was a very positive day for Westmeath with plenty to work on before the start of the Allianz Football League Division 3 campaign later in the month.

On a cold day in Mullingar, though conditions for football were good, Westmeath laid the platform for victory with a bright start, forging ahead by 1-5 to 0-0 inside the opening 13 minutes.

Ronan Wallace, Brandon Kelly and Brían Cooney contributed three early points, before Danny McCartan scored the first goal with a neat left-footed finish in the sixth minute.

A brace of points from Luke Loughlin (one free and one off his right foot) added to Westmeath’s lead. Offaly had to wait until the 18th minute to get off the mark with a pointed free from Ferbane's Darragh Flynn.

After Matthew Whittaker finished off a fine move by blasting over a point, Flynn scored his second free, which was moved closer due to dissent from Westmeath.

Slick movement of the ball through the hands was evident in a move which culminated with a Robbie Forde point, before Eoin Sawyer contributed Offaly’s first point from play.

However, the lively Brandon Kelly struck for Westmeath's second goal in the 29th minute. The chance came after good work from Kevin O'Sullivan and Jonathan Lynam, with the Milltownpass player’s shot finding the net despite a partial block from Offaly keeper Sean O'Toole.

As the first half moved into added time, Offaly were handed a lifeline as Charlie Drumm's attempt to prevent a two-pointer from Jack McEvoy's free presented Ciaran Murphy with an easy goal chance which he duly took. That left Westmeath 2-7 to 1-3 ahead at the interval.

Although Wallace opened the scoring in the second half, following a strong run forward by O’Sullivan, the side managed by Mickey Harte and Declan Kelly then enjoyed a productive spell. And by the 41st minute of this 30 minutes per half contest, the visitors had cut the deficit to three points, 2-8 to 2-5, as Westmeath lost their way somewhat.

The influential Murphy, who plays his club football with Skerries Harps, scored his second goal with a fine finish, while Diarmuid Egan and substitute Jack Bryant (a free) chipped in with points.

Yet it was a Westmeath sub who pounced for the vital score to halt the momentum Offaly had built up, Caulry's Senan Baker finishing to the net with aplomb after the ball broke invitingly for him (44th minute).

Westmeath's victory never looked in any doubt from then on, with McCartan scoring a splendid second goal shortly afterwards, having availed of O'Sullivan's perceptive pass. Loughlin and Wallace added to Westmeath’s tally to make it 4-10 to 2-5.

Mark McHugh's charges embellished their win in the 56th minute when Baker made a fine fetch in the Offaly goalmouth and laid the ball off to Kelly, who fired home his second goal.

Offaly scored the last three points of the contest, which were undoubtedly of consolation value only at this stage. The scorers were substitute Harry Plunkett (a free), Jack Bryant and Cormac Egan, who blasted over from close range.

The Westmeath management introduced six subs on the day - Jack Duncan, Tom Molloy, Darragh O’Keeffe and Stephen McGonagle, along with Harry Niall and Senan Baker, with Tubberclair's McGonagle making his competitive inter-county debut.

Westmeath will now meet Kildare in the Dioralyte O'Byrne Cup final, on Friday night, January 16, at 7.30pm in Newbridge. The Lilywhites defeated Dublin in the other semi-final by 1-22 to 1-13 on Saturday evening.

Man of the match: Ronan Wallace (Westmeath). A case could be made for several players, but the team captain gets the nod for a typically influential display. He made defensive interventions when needed and joined the attack to great effect, scoring three points from play.

Scorers – Westmeath: B Kelly 2-1; D McCartan 2-0; S Baker 1-0; R Wallace, L Loughlin (2f) 0-3 each; B Cooney, M Whittaker, R Forde 0-1 each. Offaly: C Murphy 2-0; J Bryant (1f), D Flynn (2f) 0-2 each; E Sawyer, D Egan, H Plunkett (f), C Egan 0-1 each.

Westmeath - Jason Daly; Boidu Sayeh, Charlie Drumm, Danny Scahill; Brian Guerin, Tadhg Baker, Ronan Wallace; Matthew Whittaker; Jonathan Lynam, Kevin O'Sullivan; Brían Cooney, Luke Loughlin, Matthew Whittaker; Brandon Kelly, Robbie Forde, Danny McCartan. Subs: Harry Niall for Cooney (37 mins); Senan Baker for Forde (37); Jack Duncan for Guerin (37); Tom Molloy for O’Sullivan (47); Darragh O’Keeffe for Sayeh (47), Stephen McGonagle for Wallace (56).

Offaly - Sean O'Toole; Daire McDaid, Ed Cullen, Lee Pearson; David Dempsey, Jordan Hayes, Rory Egan; Jack McEvoy, Aaron Leavy; Ciaran Murphy, Diarmuid Egan, Marcas Dalton; Cormac Egan, Eoin Sawyer, Darragh Flynn. Subs: Harry Goulding for Cullen (inj., 27 mins); Jack Bryant for Sawyer, Dan Molloy for Leavy, Sean Conway for Dalton (all h-t); Nathan Poland for Flynn (39); Conor Dunican for McDaid (46); Harry Plunkett for D Egan (51).

Referee - Lee Moore (Kildare).