Westmeath 1-12
Louth 0-11

The final of the Gerry Reilly again produced a great game of football with the two teams giving their all.

Louth started strongly with three unanswered points from Kieran Byrne, Ryan Hand and Robert Quigley. Westmeath's Andrew O'Sullivan and Ian Hyland (f) reduced the gap before Louth's Ryan Hand and Liam O'Leary extended their lead again. Louth's 'keeper made a great save to keep their lead in tact approaching the break.

There was little between the sides up to halftime with Westmeath's Aaron Curley scoring from a 45 to leave just a point between the sides, 0-7 to 0-6.

Soon after the resumption Westmeath got a goal from the 'Man of the match' recipient, David Brooks, that turned out to be the crucial score of the game. This gave Westmeath the lead for the first time. Louth then added two points to have the sides level again.

Westmeath regained the lead with 3 unanswered points. Robert Quigley reduced the arrears with a fine point. When Louth were reduced to14 players with the sending off of Andrew English for 2 yellows, their task was made all the harder. They still created scoring chances, but it was Westmeath that finished the stronger for a deserved victory. They were last crowned champions in 2001.

Overall Westmeath had great strength in their panel which probably was the main difference in the end. The large crowd in attendance were treated to great scores from both sides and it augurs well for the future of both counties.

Scorers for Westmeath: David Brooks 1-4, Andrew O'Sullivan and Ger Leech 0-2 each, Aaron Curley, Ian Hyland, Lorcan Dolan and Dillon McDermott 0-1 each

Scorers for Louth: Kieran Byrne 0-4, Ryan Hand and Robert Quigley 0-3 each, Liam O'Leary 0-1.
Ref: Joey Curley (Meath)

Winners of the Gerry Reilly Cup to date:
Westmeath 1990, 1992, 1994, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2010
Meath 1989, 1991, 1995, 1996, 2002, 2003, 2007
Cavan 1997, 2004, 2006
Dublin 1993, 1998, 2008 (U-17 Blitz) Tweet

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