Meath 2-10 Westmeath 0-11
Meath’s dogged determination and wily experience was enough to edge out neighbours Westmeath in a bruising contest in this afternoon’s quarter-final replay at Croke Park.
Despite being reduced to fourteen men after Hank Traynor’s dismissal for a second bookable offence midway through the first half, Meath produced brilliant spells of imaginative football to outclass their game opponents.
Meath, who play Kerry in the All-Ireland semi-final, relied on big performances from Ray Magee, Trevor Giles, John McDermott and Nigel Nestor.
Westmeath gave another creditable account of themselves and relayed the fact that they are now a potent force in Gaelic Football. But nevertheless Luke Dempsey’s men failed to raise their game to that extra level.
In contrast to last week’s original fixture, it was Meath who raced to the perfect start. A physical and bruising contest began at a tremendous pace and it took a mere eight minutes before Meath had their opponents on the back foot.
Ollie Murphy fisted a ball to Trevor Giles who was moving in on goal. Giles, however, was closed down but looked up and hand passed a clever ball to Graham Geraghty who palmed in off the post for an early goal.
As the game progressed, Westmeath became notably frustrated as the Meath full back line of Mark O’Reilly, Darren Fay and Cormac Murphy held super tight, giving the busy Westmeath forwards a torrid time, closing down angles time and again.
Joe Fallon and Ger Heavin managed to pierce the watertight defence on occasion but Westmeath were often guilty of panic shooting and overcrowding the goal area, having channeled players up the middle rather than spread the ball out wide.
Traynor received his marching orders on 16 minutes after referee Paddy Russell booked the Simonstown Gaels man for a body check on corner forward Dessie Dolan.
Meath held a slender one point advantage at the break, 1-3 to 0-5, but stretched that lead five minutes after the restart with a well taken route one goal.
Ollie Murphy latched onto the searching ball but had little space to maneuver. Murphy, however, had the vision to spot man-of-the-match Ray Magee isolated inside. Magee duly obliged from close range to propel Meath into a 2-3 to 0-7 lead.
Westmeath possess three of the most clinical finishers in the county in Dessie Dolan, Ger Heavin and Martin Flanagan but they suffered today with the lack of service into the full forward line.
The final ten minutes of the game produced tense end-to-end football but Meath put the result beyond doubt with further points from Magee and Murphy.