Westmeath fight back can't stop Down

Allianz National Football League Division 3: Down 2-15, Westmeath 1-15

Resurgent Westmeath were left to suffer their first defeat of this year's campaign as Down made it three wins from three in Division 3 of the Allianz National Football League on Saturday, in bitterly cold and sleety conditions at Pairc Esler, Newry.

The Mournemen looked to be cruising when they built a commanding 2-14 to 0-7 lead 10 minutes into the second half, but Westmeath refused to yield and mounted a superb fourth-quarter fightback, scoring an unanswered 1-8.

Westmeath opened the scoring through Sam McCartan, who converted a free in the fourth minute. However, Down took control thereafter and led 1-10 to 0-5 at the short whistle.

Luke Loughlin had brought Westmeath level midway through the first half at 0-5 each with a two-pointer and a score from play, but Down responded emphatically with five unanswered points before Ryan Magill struck for a close-range goal on 33 minutes.

A second-half goal from John McGeough appeared to have Conor Laverty’s men firmly on course for victory as they stretched their advantage to 13 points early in the half.

But Mark McHugh’s side rallied impressively. With fresh legs making an impact from the bench, Westmeath finally found momentum in the final quarter to cut the deficit to just two points.

Substitute Brían Cooney raised hopes of an unlikely draw when he found the net with six minutes remaining, following Matthew Whitaker's pass. However, Down steadied in the closing moments and Ceilum Doherty’s late point ultimately secured a precious three-point win.

Mark McHugh, whose side had nowhere to train during the week due to the inclement weather, was disappointed with his side's overall display and felt they were punished by a Down side which showed greater intent: "We didn't do enough tonight. There were a lot of handling errors and it took us a while to get going.

"We had a good look at ourselves at half-time - we just went back to basics and ground out the second half. We ended up making it a game; we finished very strongly and the subs all contributed to it.

"We could have stolen it, but it would have been a big theft. There were mistakes all over the pitch by our bigger players that we are not accustomed to. It's not an easy place to come and Westmeath have never won here. What it teaches us is, if we are not on our game, we will be punished.

"We showed fight and character in the end, but can't leave it that late. You have to bend your back and be brave to win breaking ball. There were a few of our lads today not brave enough to bend their back. If you're not brave enough to win dirty ball, you'll not win it."

Scorers – Down: J McGeough 1-1, C Doherty 0-4, R Magill 1-0, O Murdock 0-3, A Crimmins 0-3, D Guinness 0-3, P McPolin 0-1.

Scorers – Westmeath: L Loughlin 0-5 (2tpf, 1f), B Cooney 1-1, R Forde 0-3, R Connellan 0-2, S McCartan 0-1 (1f), R Wallace, T Baker, S Baker 0-1 each.

Down: Ronan Burns; Peter Fegan, Pierce Laverty, Callum Rogers; Pearse McPolin, Ryan Magill, Daniel Guinness; Odhran Murdock, Ryan McEvoy; Adam Crimmins, Ceilum Doherty, Shane Annett; Donal Scullion, Pat Havern, John McGeough. Subs: Barry O'Hagan for Scullion (56), Tom Close for Magill (52), Patrick Brooks for Rogers (53), Ross Carr for Havern (55), Jamie Doran for McGeough (67)

Westmeath: Jason Daly; Daniel Scahill, Charlie Drumm, Boidu Sayeh; Ronan Wallace, Tadhg Baker, Jonathan Lynam; Shane Allen, Ray Connellan; Kevin O’Sullivan, Sam McCartan, Matthew Whittaker; Danny McCartan, Luke Loughlin, TJ Cox. Subs: Senan Baker for D McCartan (13), Brían Cooney for T Baker (ht), Robbie Forde for TJ Cox (ht), Brian Gurerin for Lynam (53) Jack Duncan for S McCartan (56)

Referee: Noel Mooney (Cavan).