Deadly Devine keeps Lake Men on course

WESTMEATH 1-20 KERRY 0-16

ALLIANZ HL DIV 2A

A STRONG finish by Westmeath saw them maintain their 100pc record in the round robin section of league in Mullingar yesterday afternoon, their seven-point win against Kerry eliminating the visitors and setting up a final against Carlow.

There was very little between the two teams in the first-half as Padraig Boyle and Derek McNichol traded early points. A 10th-minute point by John Gilligan had the home team ahead by two points (0-3 to 0-1) – the biggest margin of the half.

Both Allan Devine and Shane Conway were on song from placed balls, and Devine’s 60-metre conversion with the last puck of the half had Michael Ryan’s troops ahead 0-10 to 0-9 at the interval.

Westmeath led by 0-13 to 0-12 when Devine found the net in the 44th minute. Seven minutes later Fintan O’Connor’s charges were down to 14 men after Jack Goulding picked up a second yellow card.

However, the home team struggled to put away their plucky opponents. Padraig Boyle was well wide with a blast at goal from a close-range free in the 65th minute when his side trailed by a goal.

There were just two points between the teams (1-15 to 0-16) at the end of normal time, but the table-toppers finished in style by scoring five unanswered points via Killian Doyle, Cormac Boyle, and impressive substitutes Darragh Clinton (two) and Niall O’Brien (one).

Westmeath are now just one victory away from promotion and will be hoping for a repeat of their win against Carlow last January when the sides meet in the divisional final.

SCORERS – Westmeath: A Devine 1-10 (6f, 2‘65’s), K Doyle 0-4, D Clinton 0-2, J Gilligan, N O’Brien, C Boyle, D McNicholas (f) 0-1 each. Kerry: S Conway 0-10 (10f), P Boyle 0-2 (1f), P O’Connor, J Conway, B O’Leary, J Goulding 0-1 each.

WESTMEATH – P Carroll 7; S Power 8, T Doyle 6, G Greville 6; A Craig 6, P Greville 6, D McNicholas 7; R Greville 6, C Boyle 6; J Gilligan 7, K Doyle 7, A Devine 8; C Doyle 6, N Mitchell 5, E Price 6. Subs: N O’Brien 6 for Mitchell (53), D Clinton 7 for C Doyle (60), S Clavin n/r for Devine (70 +3), D Egerton n/r for Boyle (70 +6). KERRY – M Stackpoole 6; J Buckley 6, B Murphy 7, S Weir 6; T O’Connor 5, M Boyle 7, D Collins 6; B Barrett 6, P O’Connor 7; D Griffin 5, P Boyle 7, B O’Leary 6; J Conway 6, S Conway 8, J Goulding 6. Subs: S Nolan 6 for Griffin (45), B O’Mahony 6 for Conway (45), D Dineen 6 for T O’Connor (52), C Harty 6 for P O’Connor (58), T Murnane n/r for O’Leary (65).

REF – G Quilty (Kilkenny).