Under 21 hurlers let big lead slip
April 30, 2010Westmeath's hopes of making an impact on last year's Leinster under 21 hurling championship were dashed after they slumped to a shock defeat to Kildare at Cusack Park.
Having comfortably accounted for Meath in the opening round, Eamonn Gallagher's young charges had one foot in the Leinster 'A' final when they led Kildare by 0-11 to 0-3 at half-time. When Stephen Bardon stretched their advantage to nine points early in the second half, the game looked over as a contest, but instead of killing off their opponents, Westmeath sat back for the remainder of the game and were left red-faced at the final whistle as Kildare pulled off an unlikely 1-13 to 0-15 victory.
If Westmeath are serious about making progress at senior level, they need to be beating the likes of Kildare at underage level, but this isn't happening often enough. In 2008, the Lilywhites came out on top in the All-Ireland minor 'B' final and they repeated the dose at under 21 level last year, despite Westmeath's total superiority in the first half.
After reaching the Leinster 'A' final in 2008, Westmeath had expected to at least emulate that feat last year, and they got off to the perfect start when overcoming Meath by 4-12 to 1-9 in the first round at Cusack Park on April 4. The home side dominated from the start and had victory all but wrapped up by half-time when they led 3-8 to 0-3, having played with the aid of the wind. The visitors' solitary goal came from a Michael Dunne free with six minutes remaining, by which stage the Westmeath players were already turning their thoughts to the next round.
The home side made a blistering start, taking the lead after just 15 seconds through Andrew Dermody. Meath replied with two Dunne frees, but their lead didn't last long as two goals in the space of a minute enabled Westmeath to take complete control of the game.
Just six minutes had elapsed when Eoin Price's delivery from a free kindly broke loose to Castlepollard's Alan Devine who made no mistake from close range. The Royals had no time for a breather as Westmeath attacked immediately from the puck-out and corner forward Andrew Dermody crashed an unstoppable shot to the roof of the net.
Dermody could have had another goal before midfielder Stephen Bardon shot over from 60 metres. Another Bardon point from a free made it 2-3 to 0-2 before Sean Dalton responded for the visitors. Westmeath were clearly the more potent force, though, and Bardon's hand pass found midfield comrade Christopher Flanagan who split the posts.
Andrew Dermody added another point before full forward Devine bagged a third Westmeath goal in the 28th minute. Meath badly needed a goal of their own at this stage, but corner forward Michael Kelly was crowded out by Conor Sleator and Darren Quinn as he threatened to breach the home side's cover, while at the opposite end, scores from Robbie Jackson and Killian Murphy ensured the Lake County of a 14-point interval lead.
Bardon and Dunne exchanged points on the restart before the home side swooped for their fourth goal 10 minutes in when Eoin Price and Noel Conaty combined to set up Andrew Dermody for a fourth goal. Meath simply didn't have the same cutting edge and relied on another free from Dunne to cut the gap. Further Westmeath points from substitute Damien Golden and Andrew Dermody made it 4-11 to 0-6 with 10 minutes remaining.
Despite having substitute Michael Lynch red-carded, Meath battled on and were rewarded when Michael Dunne's close range free was deflected into the net. The full forward, who accounted for all but one point of the Royals' tally, added his only point from play before Westmeath were also reduced to 14 players following the dismissal of senior player Robbie Jackson. A one-sided affair ended with Alan Devine and Michael Dunne trading points.
With seven senior panellists on board and home advantage, Westmeath were strongly fancied to continue on their winning ways against Kildare a fortnight later. But after dominating the first half, Eamonn Gallagher's side suffered an alarming second half collapse which allowed the Lilywhites to come storming back and take the spoils.
A mere 10 seconds had elapsed when Andrew Dermody picked up from where he had left off against Meath by shooting the opening score.
The early minutes bore witness to some poor striking by both sides, but Kildare did manage to pull level when John Meehan controlled a Martin Fitzgerald pass and pointed. Eventually, Westmeath settled and three points - two from Stephen Bardon and one from Darren Kilcoyne - saw them establish a 0-4 to 0-1 lead.
Fitzpatrick, who was to have a big bearing on the game, interrupted the Westmeath scoring when he collected a neat pass by Tom Byrne to score, but just a minute later, Bardon fired over the first of six unanswered points for the home side.
Eoin Price and Alan Devine were also on the mark as the maroon and whites eased into a seven-point lead. Paul Fitzgerald pulled back a Kildare point, only for Bardon to reply with his sixth point to leave Westmeath perched on a 0-11 to 0-3 lead at half-time.
When Bardon converted a close-range free just after the restart, the home side looked to be coasting but between the 33rd and 43rd minutes, Kildare turned the game on its head by drawing level. The turning point came when Donie Heffernan crashed home the only goal and it was all Kildare after that as Martin Fitzgerald, Paul Fitzgerald and substitute David Slattery scored six unanswered points between them.
On the three-quarter hour mark, Paul Fitzgerald gave the visitors the lead from a free inside his own half. Eoin Price ended a 19-minute scoring drought for the home side when he levelled before the same player squeezed them in front.
Paul Fitzgerald restored parity from a 60-metre free, only for Christopher Flanagan to put Westmeath ahead again. But the momentum was firmly with Kildare and they sealed a remarkable victory thanks to late points from Paul and Martin Fitzgerald. Westmeath could still have rescued the situation, but Eoin Price's last-gasp effort drifted narrowly wide of the posts.
The Westmeath team which lost to Kildare in the Leinster under 21 hurling championship was: Jimmy Greville; Thomas Gillen, Conor Sleator, Darren Quinn; Damien Golden, Eoin Price, Shane Egan; Christopher Flanagan, Stephen Bardon; Ciaran Curley, Jamie Ward, Darren Kilcoyne; Noel Conaty, Alan Devine, Andrew Dermody. Subs used: Killian Murphy and Eanna Gallagher. Tweet
