Wicklow blitz Westmeath
Minors put on a fine show
WICKLOW WESTMEATH 2-20 2-4
IT was one of those lovely evenings when all seemed right with the world.
The sun is setting having put in a solid shift in the blue heavens since morning and a Wicklow football team had performed with confidence and ability and dispatched a visiting team by a comprehensive score in the Leinster championship. Van Morrison sang: “Well my mama told me, there’d be days like this”. The only problem is we don’t get half enough of them.
Kevin O’Brien’s Minors suggest a bright future ahead following their 2-20 to 2-4 dismantling of Westmeath in Joule Park Aughrim last Wednesday evening.
O’Brien, channeling his inner Stephen Roche in the hills of the Pyrenees, wasn’t at the game but his trusty management team of Garrett Doyle, Damien Redmond, Eoin Phibbs and Jimmy Whittle had the Garden County side in excellent form as they ran Westmeath ragged throughout the 60 minutes.
A 0-12 to 2-1 lead at the break will testify that Wicklow were scoring freely at one end while coughing up goal chances at the other with the defence switching off for a quick Westmeath free after 10 minutes when they led by 0-6 to 0-0; Eoin Darcy with three of those in a performance that has earned him a second nomination for the Minor Player of the Week award in two weeks. He won last week’s public vote for the gong and is a star in the making without a shadow of a doubt.
The second Westmeath goal came on the stroke of half-time and suggested that Wicklow might be under pressure in the second half with Westmeath playing towards the village end.
Within nine minutes of the restart the game was over. Wicklow’s half-back pairing of Kevin Quinn from Blessington and Gavin Fogarty of An Tochar had ripped the Westmeath defence apart for a pair of sweet goals and with Darcy looking virtually unmarkable at full-forward and with Alan Barrett, Shaun Cranley, John Keogh, Matthew Ging and Andy Foley all complimenting the Tinahely man superbly the Wicklow men drove on relentlessly to finish out 2-20 to 2-4 winners.
They will face Dublin next away on June 27 in the knowledge that they must win their remaining games against the Metroplitans and the Royals to have a chance of reaching the semi-finals. The ball is their court. Tighten up at the back and continue to express themselves with the confidence they did on Wednesday and they will take some stopping.
Scorers – Wicklow: Eoin Darcy (3 ’45, f) 0-6, Kevin Quinn 1-2, Gavin Fogarty 1-1, Matthew Ging (3f), Eoghan Byrne 0-3 each, John Doyle 0-2f, John Keogh (f), Christopher Grimes, Jack Fleming Foran 0-1 each.
Westmeath: Ben McGauran (100 pen) 2-00, Jack Torpey, Jamie Coffey, Dylan Keegan, Liam Moran 0-1 each.
Niall Gaffney; David Lawlor, Christopher Grimes, Tom Moran; Kevin Quinn, Sam Kearney, Gavin Fogarty; Sean Doody, Eoghan Byrne; Alan Barrett, Shaun Cranley, John Keogh; Matthew Ging, Eoin Darcy, Andy Foley. Subs: Fionn O’Carroll for D Lawlor (HT), John Doyle for M Ging (46), Craig Maguire for A Foley (49), Daire Devine for S Cranley (52), Jack Fleming Foran for A Barrett (56), Shane Daly for E Darcy (58).
Simon Fagan; Charlie Drumm, Ciaran Daly, Darragh Seery; Eamonn Martin, Conor Gibney, Jordan McDonnell; Fionn O’Hara, Kevin O’Sullivan; Shane Fleming, Jamie Coffey, Jack Torpey; Ben McGauran, Oisin Religh, Enda Gaffney. Subs: Adam Cronin for C Daly (22), Adam Donoghue for S Fleming (22, BC), Liam Moran for E Martin (33), Trevor Keena for E Gaffney (38), Liam Brennan for F O’Hara (44), Dylan Keegan for J Coffey (51).
J King (Dublin)