Westmeath cope with the fog to record easy win over Cats

Westmeath's senior footballers had their expected easy win over Kilkenny in the O'Byrne Shield, under lights in St. Patrick's ground in Ballyragget last Saturday evening - but the Lake County management will not have learned much, given the poverty of the opposition and the very dense fog which made playing conditions hazardous on the night. Thankfully neither side suffered any injuries other than the few routine niggles one would expect in any game of Gaelic football, as it must have been a borderline call for the match officials whether to proceed with this very low-key encounter, played in front of no more than a handful of diehard fans. For those fans, it was simply impossible to make out the action on the far side of the pitch and reporters on either side of the ground had to work as a team to piece together moves and scorers. This task was made a little less strenuous by the entirely predictable trend of where almost all the scores would take place. For their part, the scoreboard operators at the clubhouse depended on mobile phone calls from helpers at the far goal area to keep their records accurate (even if they neglected to register the winners' last three points). Overall, however, the St. Patrick's powers-that-be deserve great credit for getting the game played at all, in addition to providing outstanding hospitality and refreshments to all and sundry at the interval. The home county's apathy to football is well documented and it was no surprise to see a few locals pucking a sliotar around prior to the game as the maroon and whites did their pre-match warm-up at the other end. Indeed, it was the names (Paul) Greville and (Niall) Kilcoyne which rung a bell with the Kilkenny reporter on duty! Brendan Hackett was in a position to significantly strengthen his side from the defeat by DCU by including proven quality players of the calibre of Denis Glennon and John Smyth to bolster what looked a feeble attack six days earlier. The Tyrrellspass maestro tormented the losers' defence in his 35-minute cameo, while The Downs 'road-runner' was involved in most of the Lake County's best moves (and showed he is as competitive as ever with a second minute yellow card). The aforementioned Paul Greville took over from Glennon as scorer-in-chief for his second moiety appearance and, if the Killucan/Raharney dual player sticks to the big ball, he may prove to be a significant addition to the footballers' camp in the months ahead. Given the conditions, a yellow football was used and it was Westmeath hands which had it mostly in their possession right from the throw-in. Denis Glennon opened the scoring in the seventh minute when he converted a place kick with his left foot, following great work by Doran Harte - what a vital team member the Garrycastle man has become in recent years. Glennon added another point from a play - a fine solo effort finished with a fisted score - before he tacked on his side's first goal in the ninth minute, blasting the ball to the net from close range, after good approach play by Ronan Doolin. After Westmeath failed to make use of a '45', the Denis Glennon show continued with a fine left-footed finish at the end of a sweeping (if unchallenged) move. Midway through the half, the Cats had a brief period of possession. A promising attack broke down with an illegal hand pass - it was interesting to overhear a Kilkenny player tell some of his bemused colleagues about the experimental rule prior to the start of the match. However, reliable freetaker Graham Lalor got the men in the famous black and amber jerseys on the scoresheet with a brace of well-struck frees from the ground in the 17th and 18th minutes respectively. The losers' new-found spirit was then exemplified by a great Michael Gannon block on Doran Harte. Westmeath soon took control of proceedings again and Gavin Hoey pounced for an opportunist goal at the end of John Smyth's looping cross. With the old 'square ball' rule not operational, the validity of the Tyrrellspass man's goal was never in question. With eight minutes of normal time remaining in the first half, Denis Glennon converted a straightforward free. Directly from the kick out, Aidan Finnan (who has fared well in the O'Byrne tournament to date) fielded the ball and surged forward to kick a splendid point. The respective number 15s, Denis Glennon and Graham Lalor, then exchanged points from frees, and Glennon rounded off first half scoring with a right-footed free from 25 metres. The hitherto-redundant Stephen Gallagher showed he was tuned in with a marvellous diving save low to his left in the last action of the half, the UCD and St. Loman's, Mullingar custodian reacting superbly to Sean Mahony's deft flick from Liam Brennan's high cross. At the break, Westmeath were firmly in command, leading by 2-7 to 0-3. Both sides made a number of substitutions for the second half and one of the winners' replacements, Paul Greville, was very much to the fore in the early moments, shooting narrowly wide on either side of the Kilkenny posts before making it third time lucky with a neat point in the fourth minute. The same player added three more points over the ensuing seven minutes, including two left-footed frees, with Philip Gilsenan also making his mark with a very well-judged shot for a point. At the other end, Michael Farrell kicked the Cats' best score of the evening, with their only point from play from 45 metres, in the 14th minute. Westmeath could have increased their lead, but a goal and a point chance both went unconverted, albeit Paul Greville's fine attempt for a minor going wide via the woodwork. A quickly-taken free from substitute Gary Flanagan teed up John Smyth for a rare point in the 20th minute, but Graham Lalor replied instantly from a routine free. Left-footed and right-footed points from frees ensued from Paul Greville and Aidan Finnan respectively before Graham Lalor wrapped up his side's scoring with his fifth successful free of the evening. The two Westmeath players with famous hurling fathers, Niall Kilcoyne and Paul Greville tapped over late points for the visitors. Ironically, the second half ended as the first did with Sean Mahony coming close to finding the net. On this occasion, the Kilkenny centre half-forward received the ball from an intuitive free by Graham Lalor but his low shot just whizzed by the post. Was last Saturday's trip to Ballyragget of any real value to Brendan Hackett and his backroom team? This reporter hasn't the foggiest idea! WESTMEATH: Stephen Gallagher; Jack Hogan, John Gaffey, Micheál Curley; Michael Ennis, Francis Boyle, Doran Harte; Donal O'Donoghue, Stephen Bracken; Ronan Doolin, John Smyth (0-1), Aidan Finnan (0-2, 1 free); Gavin Hoey (1-1), Philip Gilsenan (0-1), Denis Glennon (1-6, 0-4 frees). Subs: Paul Greville (0-5, 3 frees) for Doolin, Noel Kiernan for Curley, Niall Kilcoyne (0-1) for Glennon, Gary Flanagan for Boyle, Willie Murtagh for Harte. KILKENNY: J.J. Sullivan; J.J. Brennan, Richard O'Hara, Paddy Raftice; Michael Malone, Seoirse Kenny, J.J. Grace; Michael Mahony, Michael Farrell (0-1); Liam Brennan, Sean Mahony, Michael Gannon; James Mackey, J.J. Dunphy, Graham Lalor (0-5, 5 frees). Subs: Paul Donnelly for Mackey, Michael Saunders for Gannon, Michael Cody for L. Brennan, John Cody for O'Hara, Emmet Vereker for J.J. Brennan. REFEREE: Brendan Hickey (Kildare).