Westmeath get it all right until the death

Tyrone 1-15 Westmeath 2-10:IN THE textbook How To Beat Tyroneit advises to stay close early on, rattle them up in the second half and then hit them with a last-minute goal. This was working nicely for Westmeath before Tyrone wrote an addendum: and don't concede an injury-time goal.

The implications of the result shifting from Westmeath’s favour to Tyrone’s couldn’t have been more critical. It keeps Westmeath as the only side without anything to show from their Division One campaign and, with a journey to Kerry up next, the prospect of relegation is staring them in the face.

For Tyrone, two points on the road – as fortuitous as they perhaps were – moves them away from relegation and back in the hunt for a play-off berth, particularly with Donegal up next. Confidence has been restored a little as well.

As a game it was slow to start but then hectic to the finish. It’s not often you see two goals inside the last three minutes, but it’s usually the last one that counts more, and so it proved.

Westmeath, having fought tirelessly to gain the advantage in the second half, looked to have closed out their effort with a goal in the last minute of normal time. Michael Ennis, playing in the half-forward line, sneaked through to the right of Tyrone’s goalmouth, and fisted smartly into the net.

That left them three points up – 2-10 to 0-13 – as the clock switched to the three minutes’ added time. When Niall Gormley and then Colm McCullagh pointed in quick succession it appeared Tyrone might actually snatch a draw.

Instead, they went for glory. Kevin Hughes appeared to mis-hit a kick towards goal, but it was picked up by Conor Gormley and he got a good shot off it. Although Gary Connaughton saved well, Colm Cavanagh leaped in for the rebound and that was that, time for the kick-out but no more.

Westmeath manager Tomás Ó Flaharta was mostly diplomatic about it when asked if his team had been unlucky – or robbed, as it could also have been put.

“Overall I suppose so,” he said. “We just have to try to build on that again. It’s the performance really that counts at this time of year. And I think everyone out there worked very hard. That’s the attitude I want to see.

“It’s a step up all right on previous games, and knowing they are the All-Ireland champions, and we had so many young lads out there for us, then it’s encouraging. We’ll have to repeat that again, but heading into the championship, it’s good to get competitive games like this, played at this pace, against the All-Ireland champions. You might come out on the wrong side of it, but you’re well used to hits and pace coming into summer.”

Westmeath in fact started with six of their under-21s who take on Dublin in next Saturday’s Leinster semi-final, and are still missing, through injury, such notables as Dessie Dolan and Martin Flanagan. Denis Glennon, however, proved he is now their big play-maker, scoring 1-6 and contributing to several other scores.

After a shaky first half, Westmeath also held a grip on midfield throughout the second half, and their defence were excellent too. It was Glennon’s goal on 50 minutes, well set up by Doran Harte, that gave them the first real edge, but they more or less maintained that until the finish.

Yet Tyrone aren’t All-Ireland champions for nothing, and certainly didn’t lie down. They’d only started with six of their All-Ireland winning side, but McCullagh’s late introduction made a difference, while Davy Harte and Seán Cavanagh also raised their game when the pressure came on.

Harte levelled things up again on 68 minutes with his second point, and that set things up for the exciting climax – and ultimately Cavanagh’s winning goal.

“It mightn’t have been the prettiest goal,” commented Tyrone manager Mickey Harte. “But it was pretty effective today.

“I’m sure Westmeath are heartbroken, because they put an awful lot into that game. They probably saw the winning post, but it just didn’t happen for them.

“Certainly they can feel they were good value for the quality of performance.”

TYRONE: J Curran; Seán O'Neill (0-2, one 45), J McMahon, M Swift; D Harte (0-2), C Gormley, P Jordan; K Hughes, E McGinley; R Mulgrew, C Cavanagh (1-0), O Mulligan; N Gormley (0-2, one free), S Cavanagh (0-5, two frees), Shaun O'Neill (0-2). Subs: C Holmes for McGinley (10 mins, inj), P Donnelly for McMahon (39 mins), M Penrose for Mulgrew (50 mins), C McCullagh (0-2, both frees)for Shaun O'Neill (51 mins), C McCarron for Donnelly (65 mins, yellow).

WESTMEATH: G Connaughton; A Claffey, K Gavin, J Keane; F Boyle, D Heavin, D Harte; N Kilcoyne (0-2), D Duffy; M Ennis (1-0), P Bannon, C Reilly (0-1); F Spollen; D Glennon (1-6, three frees), C Lynam (0-1). Subs: J Smith for Bannon (28 mins), T McDaniel for Spollen (44 mins), K Scally for Reilly (61 mins), K Martin for Lynam (62 mins).

Referee: D Fahy(Longford).