Westmeath's interests in the Leinster under 21 'B' hurling championship proved to be shortlived after they surrendered a big lead in normal time to lose to Kildare in an extra-time thriller at Leixlip last April. Tom Ryan's charges looked set for victory when they held a seven-point lead with six minutes of normal time remaining. But Kildare produced a storming finish to regain parity and went on to win by 1-19 to 4-8 after extra-time. Needless to say, it was a hugely disappointing defeat for Westmeath who looked to have done enough in normal time only to be caught by Kildare's late surge. The fact that the visitors managed just three points in extra-time added greatly to their sense of frustration. Despite being without the services of a number of players, most notably Derek McNicholas and Joe Clarke, Westmeath were not only confident of beating Kildare but also of going on to retain their Leinster and All-Ireland 'B' crowns. However, they were rocked by a bright opening by the Lilywhites which saw them lead by 0-5 to 0-0 after 19 minutes. The game took a dramatic turn in the lead-up to half-time when the Westmeath attack suddenly came to life. An Anthony Clinton goal signalled the start of an amazing scoring burst which also yielded a hat-trick of goals from Daniel Carty as well as a brace of points from Killian Cosgrove. So, from being five points in arrears, Westmeath went into the interval leading by 4-2 to 0-8. Kildare started the second half in determined mood but their comeback hopes suffered a setback when Richie Whelan had a goal disallowed. Without playing partciularly well, Westmeath were still seven points to the good entering the final stages but everything changed when Michael Divilly goaled to bring the Lilywhites back into contention. Points from Finian Doyle, Sean O'Carroll and Peter Beirne left just the minimum between the sides before the latter forced extra-time with the equalizing score in stoppage time. The score at full-time was Westmeath 4-5, Kildare 1-14. Brian Connaughton edged Westmeath back in front before Beirne again levelled for the home side. A Thomas McEnerney point left the score reading 4-7 to 1-15 in Westmeath's favour at the end of the first period. But the second period belonged to a fitter and hungrier Kildare team who outscored the visitors by 0-3 to 0-1 to claim a remarkable victory. The Westmeath team was: Noel Boylan; Conaire Flanagan, John Fagan, Martin Egan; Adrian Smyth, Paul Greville, John Curran; Brian Connaughton, Anthony Clinton; Ronan Whelan, Shane Leavy, Killian Cosgrove; Daniel Carty, Mark McNicholas, Philip Sheridan. Subs used: Noel Yourell, Adam Mitchell, Mattie Murphy, JP Farrelly, Tomas McEnerney, Daniel Clune, Brain Smyth and Ronan Whelan. Tweet

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