Westmeath minor side advance

A well-drilled Westmeath side qualified to play Offaly in the Leinster minor hurling championship "proper" by virtue of a thoroughly deserved six-point win over Carlow.In front of a small attendance, Seamus Qualter"s charges were the better team from start to finish and were ahead by 1-5 to 0-2 at the interval, having played with the aid of a significant wind. Full forward Barry O"Meara netted the maroon and whites" goal in the 20th minute, while Carlow attacks had been invariably thwarted by the home side"s excellent goalkeeper, Cathal Scally.An opportunist goal from Michael Cantwell in the first minute of the second half brought the visitors right back into contention. However, Westmeath responded instantly with lively corner forward, Anthony Price firing to the net straight from the puck out.Despite some heroic defending from John Michael Nolan, the Barrowsiders were always playing second fiddle and were overly reliant in attack on Richard Deegan, both from placed balls and open play. In the second last minute of normal time, Castlepollard clubman, Stephen Boylan doubled superbly on the sliotar from Alan McGrath"s "65" and the ball flashed to the back of the Carlow net. In essence, Richard Deegan"s last-gasp goal from a close-range free was merely a consolation score for the losers.Lakepoint Park looked resplendent, as always, for Saturday"s fixture. The winners had the advantage of a strong wind in the first half, blowing more or less directly from the clubhouse side of the St. Loman"s facilities. It was obvious that Westmeath would need to build up a significant lead by the end of the first moiety and the signs were good when Barry O"Meara rifled over a free from the halfway line, with less than a minute on the clock. At the other end, the signs were equally positive, with goalkeeper Cathal Scally looking soundness personified when dealing with a couple of early Carlow attacks. The home team appeared to be let off the hook somewhat in the seventh minute when it looked to most observers as if Carlow"s David Gorman had been fouled perilously close to the large parallelogram, but the referee waved play on. The home side made the most of this by doubling their advantage in the tenth minute, Anthony Price popping up to send over an opportunist point after a period of concerted pressure from his colleagues.Just short of the midpoint of the half, Barry O"Meara slotted over another placed ball, this time some 30 metres from goal. The Crookedwood clubman proceeded to miss a scoreable free, with his counterpart Richard Deegan doing likewise for the lads in red, green and yellow. Sandwiched between these misses, Cathal Scally again emerged from a plethora of players, the sliotar safely secured in his hand. A shot from around 55 metres by Westmeath"s David Gavin, which initially seemed to be on target, was deemed to be wide by the umpires. The winners got a vital breakthrough in the 20th minute. Andrew Townsend pulled off a terrific save for Carlow by deflecting Barry O"Meara"s rasper against the crossbar. However, within seconds, Alan McGrath"s delivery was met by O"Meara and the ball flashed past Townsend for the first goal of the game.The visitors opened their account in the 23rd minute, courtesy of a fine 55-metre free against the wind by Richard Deegan, before David Gorman almost found the net, but his first-time pull from close range was deflected out at the expense of an unconverted "65". With two minutes of normal time remaining, Anthony Price whipped over a wonderful point under pressure, but this was instantly cancelled out by his opposite number, John Doyle. In the first minute of added-time, the referee awarded Barry O"Meara a free when an "advantage" would have been more prudent and the latter player tapped over from 30 metres with the last puck of the half, leaving Westmeath ahead by 1-5 to 0-2 at the interval.Carlow needed a good start to the second half, with the wind in their backs, and it duly arrived after a mere 50 seconds. Following Richard Deegan"s free, John Doyle"s initial shot was blocked but Michael Cantwell whipped the rebound to the net from close range. However, Westmeath got a really vital score within a minute when Anthony Price gave Andrew Townsend no chance with a rasping shot to the net from 25 metres. When Glenn Flynn followed up with a well taken point, the winners were seven points to the good, with less than three minutes on the clock. Soon afterwards, a rare error from Alan McGrath presented Richard Deegan with a straightforward opportunity from a free which he duly availed of, but the St. Mullins lad went on to strike an even simpler placed ball wide with his next attempt.The action continued to come thick and fast and, in the eighth minute, Anthony Price superbly fielded Shane Fagan"s pass, before turning and dissecting the uprights, to put his side seven points to the good again.Carlow"s left half back, John Michael Nolan looked a classy hurler, both in defence and when moving forward, and he struck over a fine point from 50 metres to reduce the deficit. Exactly midway through the second moiety, Westmeath captain Alan McGrath defied the elements to superbly slot over a "65". Another effort from a "65" by the Clonkill lad just fell short with a "fresh air" from Glenn Flynn ensuing. Carlow responded with a successful free from 45 metres by Richard Deegan but further Barrowside pressure yielded no tangible return and Glenn Flynn did very well to shorten his grip and fire over his second point for Westmeath. Despite less than ten minutes remaining and his side trailing by seven points, it still seemed strange that Richard Deegan opted to try and manufacture a goal from a 50-metre free and the ball was cleared by an alert home defence.The latter player then compensated with a terrific point from play but the goal Carlow needed would not come, Cathal Scally producing a wonderful save from substitute Daryl Roberts. Carlow netminder Andrew Townsend then proved his worth with an equally fine save from impressive Westmeath sub, Niall Dowdall. In the 29th minute, the Lake County effectively booked their passage to the next round when Stephen Bardon added to another Alan McGrath "65" to score Westmeath"s third goal. Richard Deegan then bore down on the Westmeath goal but lost his hurley at the vital moment. The same player went on to bury the sliotar in the Westmeath net from a 25-metre free, but it was a case of too little, too late for the visitors with their opponents emerging as fully deserving victors at the end of an enjoyable and sporting contest.Following on from a first round win over Kildare, this fine win over a county rightly perceived as having made great strides in underage ranks in recent years, is an undoubted shot-in-the-arm for Westmeath hurling. Offaly will, of course, be a big step up despite their 16-point trouncing by Kilkenny, but the lads in maroon and white certainly have enough quality hurlers to eke out what would be a famous victory against the Faithful County. Cathal Scally was superb between the sticks and he was fronted by a well-balanced backline. Both Stephen Boylan and Colin O"Brien hurled tenaciously at midfield, while Glenn Flynn, Barry O"Meara (despite having a mixed day from placed balls) and Anthony Price took their scores with aplomb.Carlow defender, John Michael Nolan and attacker, Richard Deegan would grace many inter-county teams, but the Barrowsiders lacked strength in many areas of the pitch.Westmeath: Cathal Scally (Clonkill); Derek Healy (Lough Lene Gaels), Adam Shiels (Raharney), Diarmuid Garvin (Castletown-Geoghegan); Cormac Boyle (Raharney), Alan McGrath (Clonkill) (0-1, from a "65"), Jordy Cassidy (Castletown-Geoghegan); Stephen Boylan (Castlepollard) (1-0), Colin O"Brien (Castletown-Geoghegan); Shane Fagan (Castlepollard), Glenn Flynn(Castlepollard) (0-2), David Gavin (St. Oliver Plunketts); Philip Reilly (Lough Lene Gaels), Barry O"Meara (Crookedwood) (1-3, 0-3 from frees), Anthony Price (1-3). Subs: Niall Dowdall (Clonkill) (for Reilly, 40 mins), Conor Thompson (Clonkill) (for Fagan, 56 mins).Carlow: Andrew Townsend; David Galway, Conor Lawlor, Seamus Gordon; Eamonn Fitzgerald, Paul Coady, John Michael Nolan (0-1); Jimmy Cahill, John Walsh; Ross Smithers, Richard Deegan (1-4, 1-3 from frees), Cian O"Brien; David Gorman, Michael Cantwell (1-0), John Doyle (0-1). Subs: Daryl Roberts (for Walsh, 38 mins), Jamie O"Brien (for Gorman, 55 mins).Referee: Ciaran Groome (Offaly).