Westmeath have no answer as Orchard men blossom

Armagh paid a welcome visit to Westmeath and the Shandonagh club in particular on Sunday afternoon last and came away with a well merited victory against a home side that fell apart in the third quarter. Up until that Westmeath had more than held their own and indeed led by a point at the break after facing a stiff breeze, but the men from the Orchard county simply upped the intensity and when they got the scent of victory they really hammered it home, scoring 1-6 without reply from the 44th to the 59th minutes, coincidentally just after Westmeath had replaced influential midfielder Darragh Daly and full back Frank Boyle. Indeed Daly's withdrawal was strange in the extreme as the young Mullingar Shamrocks man was having a fine game although he possibly was running out of steam. Indeed that was a major feature of the second half as the fitness levels of the Westmeath players looked decidedly less than those of the opposition and indeed Armagh looked as fresh at the end as they did at the start while the Lake county boys were very leg weary. That being said, Westmeath manager Pat Flanagan will have many positives from the game with Daly in particular having a fine game and other notable performances came from Aidan Finnan, Michael Curley and Kieran Martin, while Kieran Gavin had an excellent game at centre-back. But up front it was poor with just Paul Sharry and Denis Glennon showing any kind of form and that is surely an area of concern for Westmeath as they head into Championship mode. On a very miserable afternoon, the Shandonagh pitch looked resplendent and Armagh's Ruari Grugan got the opening score from a free after a foul on David McKenna. Denis Glennon then set up Darragh Daly and he slotted over superbly for Westmeath's first score. Peter Tormey then put the Lake County ahead with a lovely score from distance and it should have been more but Paul Greville missed two reasonably easy chances. Points from Colm Watters and Charlie Vernon punished some poor Westmeath defending while Greville kicked two in a row into Armagh goalie Paul Hearty's hands. Curley then set up Dlay again and the big midfielder doubled his personal tally, thereby levelling matters. Peter Tormey missed a good point scoring opportunity and Armagh then hit three points in a row - from Kevin Dyas, an Aaron Kernan free and a super score from Michael O'Rourke. Kieran Martin and Greville both left efforts short before Daly scored his third from distance to start a Westmeath resurgence. Greville pointed a free and then two in a row from frees by Denis Glennon after some fine Westmeath approach play left it 0-7 to 0-6 in Westmeath's favour at the break after an enjoyable first half. Armagh sent on a raft of substitutes after the break and it paid immediate dividends as one of the introduced players, John Murtagh, slotted over an excellent equaliser. Aaron Kernan punished some suicidal Westmeath defending from a free, while at the other end Greville missed a goal chance after a wonderful team move, but from the '45', Kieran Martin pointed and the game was level again. It would be Westmeath's last score for 20 minutes as Armagh moved up a gear. Murtagh added a point to his tally and then a disputed Tony Kernan free doubled the advantage while the same player made it three in a row from another harsh call on the Westmeath defence. Westmeath needed a boost and they should have had it when sub Alan Giles looked clean through for goal only to be denied twice by Armagh sub goalie Philip McEvoy. It was to be the turning point as from the kickout Armagh worked the ball to Murtagh and the Crossmaglen man made no mistake, firing to the net. Aaron Kernan added a free before a wonderful point from Michael O'Rourke put the Orchard County well out of sight. Paul Sharry and sub Conor Lynam pulled two back with two fine moves but at the opposite end, scores from O'Rourke and a sublime effort from Ciaran McKeever restored Armagh's 8-point advantage and they added further pain when a wonderful flowing move found its way to sub Murtagh, who made it goal number two with a clinical finish that ended the game as a contest. David Glennon could have had a goal for Westmeath after a fine through ball from Giles, but settled for a point and the last action of the game came from brother Denis who pointed a 21-yard free, but it was merely damage limitation as Armagh ran out comfortable and deserving winners. Darragh Daly was excellent and certainly a plus for Westmeath while Curley, Martin and Finnan laid good claims for a starting Championship position. The major worry is scoring and the Westmeath attack looked slightly toothless without the services of Des Dolan and that is something Flanagan and his backroom team must redress, while the visible lack of fitness toward the end was another major worry but it must be said that conditions were difficult. Paddy O'Rourke's side looked in Championship mode and even without Ronan Clarke, Stephen McDonnell and Kevin Toner they looked superb at times, with super sub Murtagh having a blinder in the second half. SCORERS: Armagh: J Murtagh 2-2, M O'Rourke and A Kernan (3 frees) 0-3 each, T Kernan 0-2 (2 frees), C McKeever, K Dyas, R Grugan (free), C Watters and C Vernon 0-1 each. Westmeath: D Daly and Denis Glennon (3 frees) 0-3 each, K Martin (45'), P Sharry, P Tormey, P Greville (free), C Lynam and David Glennon 0-1 each. WESTMEATH: Gary Connaughton, Aidan Finnan, Frank Boyle, Tommy Warburton, Michael Curley, Kieran Gavin, Kieran Martin, Denis Corroon, Darragh Daly, Paul Sharry, Fergal Wilson, Simon Quinn, Peter Tormey, Paul Greville, Denis Glennon. Subs: Brendan Murtagh for Daly (44 mins), Alan Giles for Quinn and Robert English for Boyle (46), Ronan Doyle for Martin (49), Darren Quinn for Connaughton (51), Conor Lynam for Tormey (54), David Glennon for Wilson, Callum McCormack for Greville and David Duffy for Corroon (61). ARMAGH: Paul Hearty, Andy Mallon, Brendan Donaghy, Paul Duffy, Aaron Kernan, Ciaran McKeever, Kevin Dyas, Vincent Martin, David McKenna, Ruari Grugan, Colm Watters, Tony Kernan, Graeme McParland, Charlie Vernon, Michael O'Rourke. Subs: Declan McKenna for Duffy (20 mins), John Murtagh for McParland, Billy Joe Padden for Grugan, Aaron Cunningham for Watters and Philip McEvoy for Hearty (all H-T), Stefan Campbell for T Kernan (56), Aaron Hughes for Dyas (59). REFEREE: John Bannon (Longford).