Westmeath Schools side bow out with a whimper
Dublin South 2-14 Westmeath Schools 0-4
The future of Westmeath Schools fielding a combined side in 'A' competitions in Leinster hurling must be in doubt, after a generally lethargic Lake County were floored by Dublin South, in a one-sided first round senior tie at Kinnegad on Sunday afternoon.
Sad as it is to report, the home side struggled to field a team and the game was accordingly delayed by almost 20 minutes, before 17 players were togged out in maroon and white.
Conversely, the visitors had 30 players on duty - and the gulf in population is no excuse for this from a Westmeath perspective.
Overall, it took some heroic defensive displays, particularly from goalkeeper Liam Varley and centre half-back Kieran Glennon, to preserve Westmeath's dignity on a best forgotten afternoon.
Unsurprisingly, given the pre-match scenes, Dublin South raced into a four-point lead by the 11th minute, courtesy of scores from James Roche (two - the first should have been a goal, and the second was from a routine free), Paul Doherty and Naoise Greene.
Niall O'Brien (Westmeath's only scorer) converted a free approaching the midpoint of the first half, but only O'Brien and Robbie Greville (who faded after a promising start) looked threatening in a weak losers' attack.
Sandwiched between Dublin South points from Paul Doherty and Ciaran O'Shea, James Roche's kicked effort came back off the crossbar.
Westmeath responded with a brace of points from frees by Niall O'Brien - the second needed fine defending to deflect the ball over the bar.
However, two similar goals from James Roche and Naoise Greene in the 22nd and 24th minutes made the outcome a formality, the metropolitan duo both whipping the ball low to the net from 20 metres.
The lively Greene added another point under pressure and Shane Gibbons soon got on the scoresheet despite a valiant effort from Liam Varley to prevent the sliotar from going over.
Niall O'Brien's fourth successful free wrapped up Westmeath's first-half scoring (and, as it transpired, their afternoon's scoring) in the 29th minute. At the break, Dublin South led by 2-8 to 0-4.
In truth, the second half was entirely dominated by Dublin South, with a string of fine saves by Liam Varley preventing a massacre, while defensive pivot Kieran Glennon also produced a courageous and wholehearted display, refusing to throw in the towel.
Varley's highlight was a great save from a penalty in the 39th minute from the stick of Jamie Desmond, while Glennon's block on Graham Harrington, who looked certain to find the net in the 48th minute, was inspirational.
The six unanswered metropolitan points came via Naoise Greene, Graham Harrington, Eoin Prendergast, James Roche (two) and Paul Doherty.
When this year's All-Ireland final referee Brian Gavin blew up a few minutes prematurely, it was a relief to the small group of home fans, who may well have witnessed the last occasion that a combined Westmeath Schools side took the pitch. Carlow Schools' brief participation at 'A' level has already ended.
This experiment had great potential, but a combination of factors - one very crucial factor outside certain key Westmeath players' control - deflated it badly in the past two seasons.
Having said all that, it would have been nice to see the chosen panel turn up on time for a home game last Sunday.
Scorers - Dublin South: J Roche 1-4 (0-1 free), N Greene 1-3, P Doherty 0-3, C O'Shea, S Gibbons, E Prendergast and G Harrington 0-1 each. Westmeath Schools: N O'Brien 0-4 (frees).
Dublin South: Paddy Tighe; Eoin McLoughlin, Ross Tierney, Ken Wigglesworth; Thomas McGrath, Tom Devlin, Jamie Desmond; Ciaran O'Shea, Ben McEntee; Paul Doherty, Shane Gibbons, Sean Corcoran; Naoise Greene, James Roche, Eoin Prendergast. Subs: Matthew Geraghty for O'Shea (inj., 29), Graham Harrington for Corcoran (h/time), Kevin Ward for McLoughlin (40), Sean Drummond for McEntee (44), Ciaran O'Brien for Prendergast (44).
Westmeath Schools: Liam Varley; Ciaran Fagan, Tommy Gallagher, Leonard Gavin; Michael Heeney, Kieran Glennon, Dylan Raleigh; Jack O'Kelly-Lynch, Brendan Doyle; Shane Murtagh, Robbie Greville, Michael Murray; Ian McCormack, Niall O'Brien, Cian Quinn. Subs: Jack Cully for Gallagher (inj., 10), Ian Hyland for McCormack (50).
Referee: Brian Gavin (Offaly).
