Minors can extend season with Offaly win
LOUTH WESTMEATH 3-11 2-11
LOUTH can still book a Leinster Minor Shield semi-final spot with a victory away to Offaly tonight (Tuesday) after emerging from Mullingar with their first win of the competition as the hosts slumped to a fourth consecutive defeat in Mullingar last Wednesday.
In a frantic start Shane Fleming’s shot came back off the Louth post after 35 seconds. Daire Nally opened the scoring at the other end in the second minute, but a brace of quickfire points from Enda Gaffney and a great goal from Cian Cleary put the home team four points clear with seven minutes elapsed. Jordan McDonnell and Jack Torpey soon added a great point apiece as Westmeath belatedly began to show some decent championship form.
The impressive Craig Shevlin doubled the Wee County total in the 12th minute and further points followed from the boots of Conall McCaul, Nally (shortly after Sean Healy’s piledriver had come back off the crossbar) and Shevlin again.
However, the young men in maroon and white finished the first half strongly with points from Adam Donoghue and Ben McGauran (a free) preceding a fine individual goal in the 24th minute by Gaffney. Fleming almost scored a third Westmeath goal on the half-hour mark, but his side looked firmly in control when leading by seven points (2-6 to 0-5) at the interval.
When Sean Healy was fouled just 30 seconds after the resumption of play, Ryan Walsh converted the ensuing penalty for Louth. A routine free conversion by Cathal Fleming ensued. Neat points from Fleming and Torpey put the losers five points clear, but the visitors nudged ahead (3-7 to 2-8) by the end of the third quarter courtesy of a terrific goal from Shevlin, a point from Tom Jackson, and a goal from Healy in the 42nd minute.
Westmeath regained the lead with three unanswered points from the boots of Torpey (when a goal beckoned), Jamie Coffey and a fine finish by Fleming, but Louth finished the stronger firing over four late points without reply via Fleming (two frees, the first from a tight angle), Healy (shortly after Cian McCourt kept out a goalbound shot from sub Michael Begley) and McCaul to eke out a morale-boosting win.
SCORERS: Louth: C Shevlin 1-2, S Healy 1-1, R Walsh 1-0 (pen), C Fleming 0-3 (3f) D Nally and C McCaul 0-2 each, T Jackson 0-1. Westmeath: E Gaffney 1-2, C Cleary 1-0, J Torpey 0-3, S Fleming 0-2, J Coffey, J McDonnell, A Donoghue and B McGauran (f) 0-1 each.
LOUTH: James McGillick; Finbarr Lynch, Craig Callan, Tom Jackson; Cathal Fleming, Craig Shevlin, Gabriel Bell; Conall McCaul, Joe Mee; Bobby Butterly, Daire Nally, Ruairi Hanlon; Sean Healy, Ryan Walsh, Eoghan Ryan. Subs used: Michael Begley for Ryan (h-t), Conor Quigley for Callan (39), Jamie Winters for Butterly (60 + 1).
WESTMEATH: Cian McCourt; Charlie Drumm, Ciaran Daly, Cian Cleary; Josh Gahan, Conor Gibney, Darragh Seery; Jamie Coffey, Kevin O’Sullivan; Jordan McDonnell, Jack Torpey, Shane Fleming; Adam Donoghue, Ben McGauran, Enda Gaffney. Subs used: Eamon Martin for Donoghue (h-t), Oisín Raleigh for Cleary (46), Dylan Keegan for Coffey (57).