Impressive Lake County victory sets up clash with Meath
Leinster SFC: Westmeath 5-25, Longford 1-16
Westmeath made an emphatic start to their Leinster senior football championship campaign this afternoon, overpowering Longford to win by 21 points at Glennon Brothers Pearse Park.
Mark McHugh’s side hit the ground running, with Brandon Kelly finding the net after just four minutes. Although James Moran quickly responded with a goal at the other end, the Lake men took control and never looked back, securing a Leinster quarter-final clash with old rivals Meath next Sunday.
Points from Kelly and Matthew Whittaker levelled matters at 1-2 each before Luke Loughlin blasted home a ninth-minute goal. Further goals from Kelly and Loughlin followed, helping their side to a commanding 4-7 to 1-7 lead by the 26th minute.
Shane Corcoran added a fifth goal three minutes later, leaving Westmeath in a dominant position at half-time with a 5-9 to 1-8 advantage. They continued to build on that after the break, adding 0-16 to their overall tally.
Ray Connellan opened the second half scoring with a two-pointer, while Longford replied through long-range efforts from Dylan Farrell (who finished with four two-pointers from frees) and Dessie Reynolds (two).
In the closing stages, Connellan raised another orange flag, while subs Conor Dillon and Tom Molloy contributed five points between them. Sam McCartan's two-pointer (his side's only score from a free) completed Westmeath’s tally in an impressive victory.
It will be a significant step up in class next Sunday against Division 2 champions Meath at O'Connor Park, Tullamore, but this is a fine victory to kick start Westmeath's championship campaign.
Speaking to Westmeath GAA's social media channels afterwards, the Westmeath players expressed satisfaction with a good day’s work.
Luke Loughlin said: “It went well in the first half, we were moving the ball very well. As inside forwards, you’re just trying to get chances like that and you wouldn’t get those without the ball coming in.”
Loughlin said he came off with a “bit of a niggle" but he is confident of being fit for the Meath game in a week’s time.
Ray Connellan said Westmeath’s great start gave them the platform. “We dominated from the start and we were able to keep the pressure on them. We have been a bit inconsistent throughout games this year, so it was nice that once we got ahead, we were able to push on and get a good win. We’re looking forward to Meath, but it will be a bigger test,” he remarked.
Scorers for Westmeath: L Loughlin 2-2; B Kelly 2-1; S Corcoran 1-3; R Connellan 0-5 (2tp); M Whittaker and C Dillon 0-3 each; T Molloy and S McCartan (tp) 0-2 each; B Cooney, R Wallace, K O'Sullivan and D McCartan 0-1 each. Scorers for Longford: D Farrell 0-10 (4tpf, 1f); Dessie Reynolds 0-4 (2tp); J Moran 1-0; P Moran and Daniel Reynolds 0-1 each.
Westmeath - Jason Daly; Daniel Scahill, Charlie Drumm, Tadhg Baker; Ronan Wallace, Shane Allen, Matthew Whittaker; Brían Cooney, Ray Connellan; Kevin O’Sullivan, Sam McCartan, Shane Corcoran; Shane Ormsby, Luke Loughlin, Brandon Kelly. Subs: Conor Dillon for Ormsby (44), Adam Treanor for Allen (50), Robbie Forde for Loughlin (inj., 53), Danny McCartan for Dillon (55), Tom Molloy for Whittaker (61).
Longford - Eoin McGuinness; Patrick Fox, Cian Brady, Bryan Masterson; Matthew Flynn, Niall Farrelly, Dessie Reynolds; Liam Glennon, Oisin O'Toole; James Moran, Matthew Carey, Daniel Reynolds; Dylan Farrell, Joseph Hagan, Paddy Moran. Subs: Aaron Farrell for Carey (49 mins); Aidan McGuire for Daniel Reynolds, Iarla O'Sullivan (both 58); Caolán Lynch for Glennon (64).
Referee - Kieran Eannetta (Tyrone).