Westmeath's poor record in under 21 hurling continued last April when a four-point defeat to Meath put paid to the county's hopes of winning the Leinster 'Special' championship. The under 21 grade has provided precious little joy for Westmeath hurling over the past decade and sadly that trend continued in 2007 when, following a first round victory over Wicklow, the Lake County made a tame exit from the Leinster 'Special' championship at the hands of neighbours Meath. The manner of the defeat to the Royals was a source of great disappointment to Westmeath fans who left Cusack Park with genuine concerns for the future of the game in the county. On the same day, they had also watched Meath dish out a heavy defeat to Westmeath in the Leinster minor championship, so their concern was perfectly understandable. In both games, Westmeath showed little passion, fight or urgency, and this combined with both teams' obvious shortcomings in terms of skill and hurling ability, left supporters feeling somewhat disillusioned about the current state of underage hurling in the county. The under 21s, who were jointly managed by Seamus Qualter and Johnny Dooley, had high hopes of winning the Leinster 'Special' championship last year. This was based on the fact that the team was backboned by senior players such as Conor Jordan, Eoin and Adam Price, Brian Smyth and Niall Kilcoyne. But they failed abysmally to live up to expectations and could have no complaints after their 0-12 to 0-16 loss to a hungrier and more determined Meath side. The one positive to come out of the campaign was that Westmeath managed to get a championship win under their belts. That came in Bray on April 7 when a hat-trick of goals from Castlepollard clubman Alan Devine helped propel the Lake County to a rather flattering 4-9 to 1-10 victory over Wicklow. In previous years, Westmeath had been humbled by Laois and Carlow at under 21 level, so at least the management could take some satisfaction from the win over the Garden County. The game was only 45 seconds old when Wicklow's Seanie Furlong registered the opening score. Eoin Price equalized from a free after Stephen Conway was fouled, only for Thomas Doyle to restore Wicklow's advantage from another placed ball. Conway levelled twice before a Price '65' gave the visitors the lead for the first time on 13 minutes. Points from Pat Lee and Andy O'Brien edged Wicklow back in front before Westmeath captain Brian Smyth restored parity. Lee and Robbie Jackson traded points before Westmeath made a decisive breakthrough in the 28th minute when Eoin Price's free broke kindly to Devine who made no mistake from close range. One minute later, the Wicklow defence failed to deal adequately with Brian Smyth's shot, and Devine was on hand once again to scramble the ball to the net and give the Lake County a 2-6 to 0-6 lead at the break. Westmeath were flattered by their half-time lead and Wicklow came out for the second half with all guns blazing. No sooner had Eoin Mason found the back of Jimmy Greville's net than Andy O'Brien and Alan Driver had swept over points to reduce the deficit to the minimum. But Westmeath responded impressively to the home side's resurgence. Brian Smyth latched onto a loose ball and raced clear to point. Then, with 12 minutes elapsed, the Raharney man set up the razor-sharp Devine for his third goal and the visitors were back in the driving seat. Ringtown clubman Aaron Corrigan extended Westmeath's lead before Thomas Doyle pointed a '65' to leave Wicklow six adrift, 3-9 to 1-9, with three minutes remaining. Substitute Michael Connors reduced the deficit further before the midlanders put the result beyond doubt when Christy Austin grabbed a late goal following another mistake in the Wicklow defence. While the performance in Bray was far from perfect, Westmeath were still fancied to account for Meath in the 'Special' championship semi-final at Cusack Park a fortnight later. But on a day to forget for Westmeath hurling, Meath emerged as thoroughly deserving winners. The game was ultimately decided by an 11-point haul from Meath corner forward Peter Durnin, eight of which came from frees. Westmeath committed many needless fouls over the hour and, more often than not, were punished by the accurate Durnin. Brian Smyth landed the first score for the home side and Eoin Price doubled their advantage a short time later. Full forward John Meyler got Meath off the mark before Price added two frees to make it 0-4 to 0-1. Meyler got one back, but Westmeath continued to look strong and further minors from Price and Niall Kilcoyne had them 0-6 to 0-3 in front. Durnin reduced the margin to the minimum with a brace of frees before Brian Smyth restored the home side's two-point lead with a fine effort after 19 minutes. Durnin closed the gap again, only for Westmeath to reply with unanswered scores from Smyth and Price (two) to take a 0-10 to 0-6 lead into the break Few would have give Meath much hope at half-time, especially as Durnin appeared to be their only scoring threat. But inexplicably, Westmeath fell apart in the second half, only adding two further points to their half-time tally as the resurgent Royals took control. Durnin got the first point of the half, which was cancelled out by an excellent reply from Niall Kilcoyne. Meath were then awarded a penalty after Adam Price brought down Meyler in the square, but Jimmy Greville produced a brilliant save from Durnin to keep the home side in front. That save should have lifted Westmeath, but instead they faded completely out of the game. Durnin landed three frees to level proceedings before centre forward Joey Keena gave Meath the lead for the first time. A foul on Kilcoyne gave Eoin Price the opportunity to level and he duly did so to set up an interesting final quarter. But it was all Meath from there until the finish as their superior fitness and greater hunger told. The Royals powered home with a brace of points each from Keena and Durnin to end Westmeath's championship involvement for another year. The Westmeath team which lost to Meath in the Leinster under 21 'Special' championship semi-final was: Jimmy Greville; Anton Savage, Conor Jordan, Tom Macken; Eoin Price, Adam Price, Shane Egan; Brian Smyth, Christopher Austin; Luke Folan, Aaron Corrigan, Stephen Conway; Eamonn Og Clarke, Niall Kilcoyne, Alan Devine. Subs used: Kenny Higgins, Tony Doyle and Noel Conaty. Tweet

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