Westmeath's Leinster hopes dashed as Heslin sees red

A glorious chance of winning a Leinster U-21 title slipped through Westmeath's grasp in Navan last Wednesday night. It might be simplistic to suggest that John Heslin's indiscipline cost Westmeath a place in the Leinster final, but such a view contains a certain degree of validity. Westmeath were leading 0-9 to 0-7 when Heslin was sent off in the 19th minute of the second half. Heslin had only been on the pitch a matter of 16 minutes when he was shown a straight red card by Dublin referee Brian O'Shea. The St Loman's player fouled Longford midfielder Kevin Diffley when contesting a high ball, and then got involved with the Ballymahon player when he was on the ground. The referee was close to the incident and had little hesitation in issuing a red card. From the time of the sending off to the end, Westmeath failed to register another score as Longford hit three unanswered points to claim their place in the Leinster final. Ironically, for the short time he was on the pitch, Heslin helped to turn the game back in his side's favour. With Kevin Diffley a prominent figure, Longford had got on top at midfield towards the end of the first half, but Heslin's arrival gave Westmeath a major lift. Whether Westmeath would have won this game without bringing Heslin on is a moot point, but it seems likely that, had he managed to stay on the field, the Lake County would now be preparing for the Leinster final. In any case, such idle speculation is of little use now. On the back of victories over Laois and Offaly, Westmeath went into this game as favourites (indeed they were the bookies' fancies to go on to lift the Leinster crown). However, Longford's victory over Meath (after extra-time) in their own Navan backyard meant only the foolhardy would take their challenge lightly. Longford also had a good minor team three years ago which was defeated in the Leinster semi-final by eventual winners Meath. In addition, Longford won the 2010 Leinster minor title and several players from that team have already made the transition to under-21 county football. Placing too much emphasis on the Heslin sending off runs the risk of failing to give Longford the credit they deserve. Padraic Davis' side showed oodles of spirit and no little skill to carve out this victory, qualities they also demonstrated in that win over Meath. While the Heslin red card was the turning point in this game, there are other areas for Westmeath to look back on with regret. Having dominated for long periods of the first half, Westmeath still only led by a single point (0-5 to 0-4) at half-time. The men in maroon and white only managed one point from play in either half - hardly the type of statistic that wins Leinster semi-finals. Thomas McDaniel was the scorer of Westmeath's only first-half point from play, but he missed a gilt-edged chance to raise a white flag just before the interval. When a team loses a semi-final by one point, such misses stick out in the ledger like a sore thumb. Despite the talent in their forward line, Westmeath struggled to turn possession into scores in the first half and this failure came back to haunt them. By the 22nd minute, Westmeath led 0-5 to 0-1 but they only managed to add four more points to their tally. Such a return was never likely to be enough. Westmeath kicked three balls into the Longford goalie's hands during the first half, and this lack of clinical finishing proved very costly indeed. James Dolan had proved a valuable attacking (and scoring) weapon in the campaign heretofore, but Longford rarely gave him the freedom to attack from his wing-back slot, although the Garrycastle man was still one of his team's leading performers. Ben Moran and Kieran Sheridan did well in the full-back line, while Kieran Martin had a fine game up against a talented opponent in the shape of James McGivney. And midfielder Darragh Daly, who has shown considerable improvement this year, enhanced his reputation. Although he was named as the official player-of-the-match, Conor Lynam was not as impressive as in the previous rounds. Indeed it was jarring to hear the public announcer calling the Westmeath captain to come forward for the award presentation just seconds after such a bitterly disappointing defeat. There was plenty of Longford contenders for the man-of-the-match award. Aaron Quinn was excellent at corner-back and team captain Colm P Smith was a key figure at centre-back. Both midfielders Kevin Diffley and John Keegan supported their defensive and attacking colleagues to great effect. Up front, the excellent McGivney received able support from Padraig McCormack and corner-forwards Robbie Smith (in particular) and JJ Matthews. Leaving the sending-off decision aside, the referee's performance as a whole left a lot to be desired. His pernickety style didn't allow the game to really flow and he made some truly baffling calls. Ian Coffey appeared to be blatantly fouled when in a good attacking position in the first half, yet no free was given, while Longford wing-back Shane Mahon was inexplicably denied a free-in during the closing stages. With the Páirc Táilteann pitch in splendid condition, the opening score came from a Conor Lynam free in the second minute, after a foul on Callum McCormack. What seemed a harsh decision against James Dolan allowed James McGivney to level matters. Westmeath 'keeper Eoin Carberry then did well to claim a dangerous ball from McGivney, with corner-forward JJ Matthews lurking with intent. In the 12th minute, wing-forward Adam Corroon, who was much more involved in the game than in previous outings, set up Thomas McDaniel to put Westmeath back in front. Callum McCormack was winning plenty of possession at full-forward, and a foul on the Maryland player gave Conor Lynam the chance to increase Westmeath's lead. But although Westmeath were in the ascendancy, to some extent the seeds of their downfall were now being sown. Mark McCallon, Callum McCormack and Ian Coffey (with a half-blocked effort) hit shots into the grateful arms of Longford 'keeper Patrick Columb in quick succession. After James Dolan did well to regain possession and earn a free, Lynam put his side 0-4 to 0-1 ahead. In the 22nd minute, impressive Longford corner-back Aaron Quinn seemed unlucky to be penalised for a challenge on Lynam, who made no mistake from the resulting free. With the Longford forwards struggling to make inroads, midfielder John Keegan showed the way with a fine point from the right (25th minute). This boosted the men in blue and gold, and two more points quickly followed from McGivney (a well-struck free from 40 metres) and Robbie Smith (a sweet left-footed score in the 27th minute). In the remaining minutes of the first half, McDaniel missed a chance from close range, and Coffey was then denied a free-in when he certainly appeared to be fouled, a decision which led to Lynam picking up a yellow card for dissent. Within 15 seconds of the restart, Longford were level, McGivney on target after being set up by Keegan. Just moments after the arrival of John Heslin (in place of David Keenan), ironically it was midfield partner Darragh Daly who lifted Westmeath with a superb fetch from a kick-out. A point soon followed, with Dolan setting up Corroon to put Pat Flanagan's charges back in front. A somewhat harsh free, awarded against Ben Moran, then led to Robbie Smith drawing level Longford level from a free. In the 40th minute, influential Longford substitute Peter Reynolds put Longford ahead for the first time with an excellent point. Westmeath needed to respond and, after good work by Heslin, Callum McCormack earned a free-in which Lynam pointed (McCormack had kicked the ball over the bar, but the referee had already signalled the free). A nice piece of trickery from Ian Coffey earned a free-in which Lynam pointed, and Coffey himself then delightfully swept over a free, making light of an awkward angle on the right. That put Westmeath 0-9 to 0-7 up, but the subsequent sending-off of Heslin led to a sea change in the contest. Still, it wasn't until the 56th minute that Longford edged closer with a fine point by JJ Matthews, following good work by Diffley and McGivney. As Longford continued to attack in droves, a brilliant point by Padraig McCormack drew the sides level in the 57th. A minute later, a huge free by McGivney proved the winning point. As Longford went in search of the 'insurance point', James Dolan did well to thwart an attack, but Westmeath's efforts at trying to engineer an equaliser lacked composure, and the closest they came was from an ambitious effort from Conor Lynam. Despite the stoppage to treat Diffley (after the incident involving Heslin) and five second-half substitutions, only two minutes of injury-time were played. An irritatingly familiar lament in GAA games, but Longford could not be denied a famous victory. This result means new Leinster U-21 champions will be crowned this year as neither Longford or final opponents Wexford (who defeated Carlow in the other semi-final) have ever won the provincial title at this grade. SCORERS: Longford: J McGivney 0-4 (3f); R Smith 0-2 (1f); JJ Matthews, J Keegan, P Reynolds, P McCormack 0-1 each. Westmeath: C Lynam 0-6 (6f); T McDaniel, A Corroon, I Coffey (f) 0-1 each. LONGFORD: Patrick Columb; James Carroll, Fergal Battrim, Aaron Quinn; Shane Mahon, Colm P Smith (capt.), Diarmuid Cooney; Kevin Diffley, John Keegan; Padraig McCormack, James McGivney, Marty Mulvey; Robbie Smith, Darren Gallagher, JJ Matthews. Subs: Paul Devine for Carroll (13 mins); Peter Reynolds for Gallagher (22); Conor Keegan for Mulvey (48); James Noonan for R Smith (56); D Gallagher for Mahon (62). WESTMEATH: Eoin Carberry; Ben Moran, Kieran Sheridan, Kevin Maguire; Mark McCallon, Kieran Martin, James Dolan; David Keenan, Darragh Daly; Adam Corroon, Conor Lynam (capt.), Ger Egan; Ian Coffey, Callum McCormack, Thomas McDaniel. Subs: John Heslin for Keenan (33 mins); John Gilligan for Corroon (53). WIDES: Longford 7 (1st half: 3). Westmeath 6 (1st half: 3). YELLOW CARDS: Longford 4 (S Mahon, D Cooney, J McGivney, JJ Matthews). Westmeath 2 (C Lynam, J Gilligan). RED CARDS: Westmeath 1 (J Heslin). REFEREE: Brian O'Shea (Dublin).