Despite a magnificent Leinster championship victory over Dublin and highly creditable performances against hurling aristocrats Kilkenny and Waterford, Westmeath dropped back to the Christy Ring Cup when losing the All-Ireland championship relegation final to a revenge-hungry Dublin side. Relegation back to the Christy Ring Cup after just one year competing in the All-Ireland championship was rough justice on the Westmeath hurlers, who showed real signs of progress during an eventful 2006. After being crowned inaugural winners of the Christy Ring Cup in 2005, the Lake County side heralded their return to top flight with a sensational 0-13 to 0-11 victory over Dublin in the Leinster championship quarter-final at a rain-lashed Portlaoise. That set the scene for a glamour provincial semi-final clash with Leinster champions Kilkenny at Cusack Park. Again, Seamus Qualter's men performed admirably before succumbing to a 1-9 to 1-23 defeat. Another brave performance against Waterford in the All-Ireland qualifiers followed, but a costly defeat to Laois in their next game left Westmeath facing the prospect of relegation and this was confirmed when Dublin exacted revenge with a 0-16 to 0-8 victory on a sweltering hot day in Tullamore. Westmeath began 2006 with high hopes of winning Division 2 of the National League. They beat Kildare (1-14 to 1-10), Mayo (1-9 to 0-11) and London (4-11 to 2-10), and drew with Kerry (2-9 to 2-9) to qualify for the quarter-final where they accounted for Derry by 2-17 to 2-10 in Scotstown, Co. Monaghan. But a 0-11 to 1-15 reversal at the hands of Dublin in Portlaoise saw them bow out at the penultimate round stage. Unsurprisingly, Dublin were expected to confirm their superiority over Westmeath when the sides renewed their rivalry in the Leinster championship in monsoon conditions at O'Moore Park. The game only went ahead after a pitch inspection by the referee and what followed was arguably the best performance produced by any Westmeath hurling team since the 1980s when the Lake County could hold their own in any company. A late change to their live TV schedule meant that the RTE cameras were in O'Moore Park to witness a historic Westmeath victory. Only a few days earlier, Westmeath had failed to receive an invite to the launch of the 2006 hurling championship and this dreadful oversight by sponsors Guinness provided ample motivation for the underdogs who came from behind to beat Dublin in the Leinster championship for the first time since 1982. The Metropolitans led by 0-3 to 0-1 after 10 minutes, and had stretched their advantage to three points by the interval. But with Andrew Mitchell in unerring form from placed balls and Darren McCormack producing a heroic performance at centre back, Westmeath came roaring back in the second half to win by 0-13 to 0-11. When Kilkenny visited Mullingar a few weeks later, there was a carnival atmosphere inside Cusack Park. Seven thousand fans watched the game - a far cry from the 50 or so that saw Westmeath beat Derry in the Division 2 quarter-final in Scotstown a couple of months earlier. In the event, Kilkenny lived up to their billing as red hot favourites with a 14-point win. But considering that they had beaten Offaly by 31 points at the same stage in 2005, it was something of an achievement for Westmeath to keep the margin respectable. "We're delighted with the performance. At the end of the day, they only got one goal and a good few of their scores came off mistakes. Look at the crowd - we never had a crowd like that at a hurling game before. The supporters came along and we knew we had to give them something to cheer about. It was a huge lift getting the goal before half-time," Seamus Qualter said afterwards. On a blustery evening, Eoin McCormack and Andrew Mitchell exchanged early points before Kilkenny opened up a 0-5 to 0-1 lead by the 12th minute thanks to two Henry Shefflin frees and two further efforts from Willie O'Dwyer and Richie Mullally. The impressive Enda Loughlin cut the gap to three with the best score of the game before points from Shefflin, Derek Lyng and Comerford stretched the Cats' lead. A brace for 'Cha' Fitzpatrick and one each from Shefflin and blood sub Michael Rice made it 0-12 to 0-3 by the 27th minute. Four minutes later, Westmeath captain John Shaw failed to clear his lines, Shefflin capitalized before cutting in along the end line and setting up the opening goal for Eoin McCormack. The signs looked ominous for Westmeath at that stage, but the crowd was on its feet when Barry Kennedy rounded James McGarry for a well-taken after good work out the field by Mitchell and Joe Clarke, leaving it 1-15 to 1-4 at the break. The standard dropped considerably in the second half, with the visitors seemingly happy to consolidate their advantage. Scores from Shefflin (two), Comerford, McCormack (two), Mullally and Rice, who by then had replaced the injured Comerford, had the Cats perched on a 1-22 to 1-7 lead. With Kilkenny deciding to withdraw defensive lynchpins John Tennyson and Tommy Walsh, Westmeath actually finished the stronger with Darren McCormack and Clarke slotting over late points. Veteran full back Christo Murtagh finished the game in barnstorming fashion with a few great catches over Shefflin, followed by excellent relieving clearances. The visit of Waterford for the first round of the All-Ireland qualifiers attracted another big attendance to Cusack Park. With old hands Tony Browne, Ken McGrath, Dave Bennett and Dan Shanahan to the fore, the Decies were already out of sight by half-time when leading by 2-14 to 0-6. Westmeath appeared to be staring at a rout, but showing the same spirit and determination which saw them beat Dublin in the Leinster championship, they matched their illustrious opponents score for score in the second period and, but for a few decisions by referee Eamonn Morris, would have been a lot closer than 14 points (3-22 to 1-14) at the final whistle. Dublin official Morris controversially disallowed a Brendan Murtagh goal four minutes after the restart - even though it was a virtual carbon copy of Waterford's first goal which was scored by Ken McGrath in the 23rd minute. Like McGrath, Murtagh sent a long-range free directly to the net and in both cases players were clearly in the square. "It's disappointing to get a referee like that in such a big game," fumed John Shaw, who gave an outstanding display following his switch from wing back to midfield in the second half. "He made five or six major decisions which cost us. To allow the Waterford goal and disallow ours was very annoying. I thought both of them were square balls and should have been disallowed." Daniel Carty, who proved a real handful for Waterford full back Tom Feeney, put Westmeath in front for the only time in the opening minute. Dave Bennett got the visitors motoring with three points inside the first nine minutes and further scores from Shane O'Sullivan, Ken McGrath and Bennett eased them into a 0-7 to 0-2 advantage by the end of the first quarter. McGrath's hotly disputed goal extended Waterford's lead to nine points and they were cruising when John Mullane booted the ball past Mark Briody two minutes later after being set up by Dan Shanahan. Shaw and Carty replied with points for the home side, who trailed by 14 at the interval. Shanahan stretched Waterford's lead to 15 just after the restart, but the disallowing of Murtagh's goal stung Westmeath into action and they were given a glimmer of hope when the big Clonkill centre forward blasted a penalty to the net in the 49th minute. A brilliant Shaw effort left 10 points between the sides with 17 minutes remaining, only for Bennett and Mullane to respond for the slicker Waterford men. Sub Derek McNicholas, Murtagh and Shaw then reeled off unanswered points for the home side and the pressure increased on Waterford when sub Jack Kennedy was sent off after receiving a second yellow card in the 64th minute. However, the Decies finished with a flourish. First, Ken McGrath first-timed a beauty over the bar, and Mullane and Shanahan again combined for the latter to bang in a third goal in injury-time. Despite coming in for praise for their battling displays against Kilkenny and Waterford, Westmeath were fully aware of the consequences if they were to lose to a struggling Laois side in their next outing at Cusack Park. As it transpired, the home side's form deserted them as they slumped to a James Young-inspired Laois on a 2-9 to 2-15 scoreline. The Clonaslee St. Manman's sharpshooter hit 1-13 in a brilliant display of marksmanship to leave Westmeath on the cusp of a return to second tier hurling in 2007. Westmeath started brightly with Darren McCormack's shot from 65 metres going all the way to the Laois net to give them a 1-1 to 0-2 lead after 11 minutes. Two Young frees and another point from Mark Rooney had the visitors ahead by the 20th minute, only for Barry Kennedy and Derek McNicholas to restore Westmeath's lead. But a controversial Rooney goal in the 34th minute saw Laois lead by 1-7 to 1-5 at the interval. Andrew Mitchell reduced the deficit to the minimum following the restart, but then came the decisive score when Young blasted a 30-metre free to the net to put some daylight between the sides for the first time. Three Mitchell frees saw Westmeath reduce the gap to two points with five minutes of normal time to go, but six points from Young and another from half back Michael McEvoy in the time remaining eased the O'Moore County to victory and Derek McNicholas' late goal was no more than a consolation score for the deflated home side. Galway, the beaten All-Ireland finalists in 2005, piled further misery on Seamus Qualter's side when dishing out a 24-point drubbing, 3-21 to 0-6, in Salthill. Westmeath had Barry Kennedy red-carded and his Castlepollard team-mate Darren McCormack picked up a serious knee injury. Paul Greville and Joe Clarke also suffered knocks with the result that Qualter was forced to pick from a depleted squad for the crucial relegation battle against Dublin. Revenge was sweet for the Metropolitans as they recorded a double scores victory to retain their Liam McCarthy Cup status and condemn the Lake County to second tier hurling next season. Despite finishing the game with 13 players, Dublin always looked comfortable and in David Curtin, they had a free-taker who punished Westmeath time and again. Curtin hit 0-8 - 0-5 from frees - against a Westmeath team who themselves were reduced to 14 men when Enda Loughlin was red-carded for a foul on Stephen McDonnell five minutes from the end. Dublin's teenage midfielder John McCaffrey was the first to go when he received his second yellow card in the 56th minute. Full back Kevin Ryan followed him for an early shower just before the end on a second yellow card. Westmeath opened the scoring through Andrew Mitchell from a free. But their lead was short-lived as a sharper and more economical Dublin side took control of the game to open up a commanding 0-11 to 0-2 interval lead. Curtin hit 0-5 in the opening period, three of them from frees, while McCaffrey and Michael Carton also weighed in with delightful scores. Westmeath, who had been extremely wasteful in the first half, resumed in businesslike fashion and had reduced the deficit to six when McCaffrey received his marching orders. The margin would have been smaller had Derek McNicholas not shot wide with a goal at his mercy in the 44th minute. But Dublin comfortably held on and Westmeath's fate was sealed when Loughlin was given his marching orders for the incident involving McDonnell, and the unerring Curtin slotted over the resultant free. It's back to the drawing board for Westmeath in 2007. Harsh lessons were learned during last year's campaign and hopefully they will stand to the Lake County as they plot a quick return to the top flight. Tweet

Most Read Stories