Westmeath back on form

Westmeath returned to winning form before a crowd of 10,487 in Cusack Park on Saturday evening. Luke Dempsey, the Westmeath manager, re-echoed the sentiments of the Westmeath's followers after the game: "I'm delighted to have that game over us. We were caught flat-footed by Wexford last week. All of the players were devastated after the defeat by Meath."

Dempsey reckoned it took his players an hour and a half of football to get the Meath defeat out of their system.

Despite a lot of fumbling to give the ball away in the first half, Westmeath showed some flashes of their best football in the second half when they managed to get the ball quickly through to Dessie Dolan and Ger Heavin.

The early ball was well executed by Westmeath in the fourth minute of the second half when midfielder David Hughes took a quick free to target either Dolan or Ger Heavin. When the ball broke to the left, Heavin was in like a flash to drill a low shot into Ollie Murphy's net.

That goal gave Westmeath a five-point advantage, 1-9 to 1-4, and sent Wexford on the slippery slope.

Westmeath spent most of the first half struggling to find the levels of cohesive and precision play they had so earnestly desired. They were again forced to play catch-up football but not to the extent that they faced in the drawn game.

A 14th-minute goal for Wexford, when Mattie Forde got a touch to a Leigh O'Brien free, underlined Westmeath's problems. In addition, Willie Carley and converted midfielder Jack Berry were benefiting from sloppy Westmeath work.

Westmeath's Rory O'Connell and Hughes were industrious but too often lost possession to put added burden on their defence. The place-kicking duties, impeccably performed by Westmeath's Joe Fallon and Wexford's wing-back O'Brien, proved the real highlights of an untidy first half.

A Westmeath goal seemed likely just before the break when Ger Heavin set up the on-running Michael Ennis, who was taken out by Colm Morris just outside the large square.

Remarkably Leitrim referee Seamus Prior, having consulted an umpire, took no action. Even more curious was the official's decision not to show Wexford wing-back David Murphy a second yellow, for a second bookable offence in the second half.

In fairness to the Wexford rearguard, their shadow tackling was brilliantly deployed so much so that the most promising, if over elaborate, Westmeath moves were sometimes forced backwards.

Westmeath struck winning form in the second half and Ger Heavin and Dolan proved more difficult to contain.