Dublin falter in front of deserved winners

FROM THE ARCHIVE 2004 LEINSTER SFC QUARTER-FINAL:SO MANY strands to unknot and an earnest duty not to let the forensic examination of Dublin's failure get in the way of the recognition Westmeath deserve. After years of squeaky defeats which Westmeath could dress up as unlucky or unfortunate, they broke through to the big time in Croke Park yesterday, beating Dublin by a couple of points, writes TOM HUMPHRIESat Croke Park

Their only regret will be that it could have been more. Dublin failed to score after Alan Brogan got their 12th point with 10 minutes of ordinary time left. That score put Dublin a point ahead, and those who have watched Westmeath in recent years felt a sudden heaviness in the heart. The sound of nails being hammered in was surely next.

But no. There were six minutes of additional time played also and in that period Westmeath had the opportunity to humiliate Dublin even more than they did. Gary Dolan equalised with a point which would have been a goal had he not dithered over which way to hit it. Then Paddy Christie missed a ‘45’ for Dublin as the absence of a place-kicker in the Dublin 15 became critical.

Westmeath held their nerve. Just about. They missed a couple of point chances, but in the final minutes it was Dublin errors which kept the scoreboard from whirring. First Bryan Murphy put a kick-out from a Westmeath wide over the sideline.

Joe Fallon, a late substitute, popped over the point which put Westmeath ahead. Then not long later the coup de grace: Paul Conway through, clipping a point to spark off a cacophony in the attendance of 60,102.

It ended not long afterwards and from the blue jerseys in the stands came a chorus of booing, confirmation perhaps that whatever Tommy Lyons once had with the team and their followers isn’t there anymore.

For Westmeath, those moments of exultation were a long time coming and are the result of an enlightened policy which saw underage success built upon slowly at senior level. As Dessie Dolan said in the dressingroom afterwards, there was some bafflement in Westmeath as to why the team couldn’t take a big scalp in recent years. They had done so regularly as youngsters coming up through the ranks.

And of course it was a lingering moment of gratification for Páidí. When he walked out of Kerry and into Westmeath in the blinking of an eye there were those who felt they were watching the rash actions of a grieving man. The league did little to dispel that feeling, but late on some shoots were evident.

Yesterday Westmeath achieved their first win over Dublin since 1967 and put together championship back-to-back wins for the first time since D-Day was fresh in the mind. It was a triumph of good management as well as decent football.

The first half was full of opening statements setting out the respective cases, and there was little reason to suppose Ó Sé was going to swing the verdict. Dublin, accustomed to the venue, were persuasive and articulate to begin with. Jason Sherlock was especially eloquent with four points from play in the opening 16 minutes. He was backed up by Alan Brogan, whose acceleration seemed undiminished by his time Down Under.

Finally, though, after about 20 minutes of epigrammatical brilliance the floor was yielded to Westmeath. Opening arguments were made as always by Dessie Dolan. Dublin had surprised some by preferring Barry Cahill to David Henry when it came to muzzling Dolan.

The result surprised the Dublin bench. Cahill, a centre back by trade, struggled in the corner. Having led by four points after 16 minutes, Dublin were pulled back to within three by half-time. More worrying, though for Dublin was the trend of the game: Westmeath increasingly strong in midfield; less and less quality ball hitting the Dublin full forward line virtually no ball being carried in by Dublin’s wing forwards; Dessie Dolan growing in confidence.

After the break Westmeath scored the first three points, a critical string of scores which seized the initiative. Dolan, David Mitchell and Denis Glennon all feasted on Dublin’s uncertainty.

It might have been even better for Westmeath. Glennon might have had a goal when he took his point, and seconds later he was unfortunate when Dolan streaked in again and his handpass to Glennon went just too high to be diverted into a yawning net.

Alan Mangan gave Westmeath what seemed like an inevitable lead on 49 minutes. Dublin’s reply was stuttery.

They came back up the field, finding the newly introduced Ray Cosgrove. He shot high and wide. You could sense the mood of the crowd changing. Blood in the water.

A minute or so later Darren Homan ended up at the bottom of a ruck and required treatment. He was eventually replaced by Coman Goggins (with Darren Magee moving to midfield) and with him went Dublin’s most combative midfield presence.

That Dublin were seriously struggling was evident within a minute. Collie Moran, sprung as a forward yesterday, popped a fine equaliser, but Westmeath promptly launched a long ball out of defence for which Dessie Dolan held off Cahill again.

The ball was worked across-field, via a string of passes, to Alan Mangan, who restored the lead he had created a few minutes earlier.

Remarkably, Dublin pulled two scores out of the bag in quick succession, Senan Connell and Alan Brogan reassuring the brethren for a brief moment. Then it all went away from Dublin.

The rest is history. Westmeath happily sliding home with room to spare. Dublin off to huddle around a television to learn their hideous fate. London! Altogether now: Football’s coming home, it’s coming home, it’s coming home...

WESTMEATH:G Connaughton; J Davitt, D O'Donoghue, J Keane; M Ennis, D Healy, D Heavin; G Dolan (0-1), D O'Shaughnessy; B Motley {0-1), P Conway (0-2), A Mangan (0-2); F Wilson (0-1, a free). D Glennon (0-2), D Dolan (0-3). Subs: D Kilmartin for Davitt (22 mins), D Mitchell (0-1) for Wilson (31 mins), J Fallon (0-1) for Kilmartin (69).

DUBLIN:B Murphy; B Cahill, P Christie, P Griffin; S Ryan, C Moran (0-1), P Andrews; C Whelan, D Homan; C Keaney, D Magee, B Cullen (0-1); A Brogan (0-4), J Sherlock (0-4). S Connell (0-2, two frees). Subs: R Cosgrove for Keaney (49 mins), C Goggins for Homan (54 mins), D Lally for Cullen (51 mins), T Quinn for Moran (76).

Referee:M Collins (Cork).