Carlow proved to be a real thorn in the side of the Westmeath minor hurling team in 2005, first putting them out of the Leinster championship and then beating them in the All-Ireland 'B' championship semi-final. The Westmeath minor hurlers will have nightmares about their meetings with Carlow in 2005. Four times the teams crossed paths and on each occasion, it was the Barrowsiders who emerged victorious. Carlow had the upper hand in the Leinster league final and in the two championship tussles between the sides, and confirmed their superiority over the Lake County by inflicting a third defeat on them in the All-Ireland 'B' championship semi-final in July. After winning three games on the trot in the round-robin section of the Leinster championship, Westmeath had high hopes of progressing to the championship proper but crushing back-to-back defeats to Carlow put paid to such hopes. This was a big disappointment to manager Pat Clancy, who had successfully guided Westmeath through the round-robin series during his previous term in charge in 2003. Clancy, who was assisted last year by selectors Eamon Clarke, Nicky Weir and Adrian Moran, used the Leinster league to prepare the team for the championship and their qualification for the final, coupled with a 2-9 to 0-6 victory over a strong Limerick selection in Mungret, gave them a timely boost ahead of the championship opener against Kildare. Broadford was the venue for the meeting with the Lilywhites which resulted in a 1-14 to 0-9 victory for the visitors. There was never more than a point between the sides until late in the first half when Stephen Conway scored the only goal after Owen Price's initial effort had been blocked by Kildare goalkeeper Paul Killalea. Price and senior player Killian Cosgrove added quick points to give the Lake County a 1-7 to 0-5 lead at the break. A Fergal Byrne point raised hopes of a Kildare comeback following the change of ends, but that was as a close as they came as Westmeath pulled away courtesy of points from Shane Egan, Conway and Cosgrove. The visitors had stretched their advantage to 1-12 to 0-6 before Kildare could a muster a reply. The scoring was completed by Castlepollard's Shane Egan, who was one of Westmeath's most effective forwards over the hour. Before their next championship outing against Wicklow, Westmeath suffered the first of three defeats to Carlow in the Leinster league final at Durrow, Co. Laois. Controversially deprived of the services of Killian Cosgrove who was on duty for the county seniors against Roscommon on the same day, Westmeath were always playing catch-up after John Doran scored the only goal midway through the first half. Doran's strike helped the Barrowsiders to a 1-6 to 0-4 at the interval and while the Lake County side improved in the second half, they were unable to make up the deficit with Cosgrove's attacking prowess being sorely missed. Westmeath put that disappointment behind them six days later when getting the better of Wicklow by 1-15 to 1-12 at Leixlip, Co. Kildare. Having easily accounted for the same opposition in the Leinster league, Westmeath were taken aback by the ferocity of the Wicklow challenge and had to work hard for their second championship win. Pat Clancy's charges looked to be on their way to another easy victory at half-time when they held a 1-8 to 0-3 lead. The goal was scored by Owen Price after just two minutes and further scores from Luke Folan, Jimmy Greville and Killian Cosgrove left the maroon and whites in a commanding position at the break. But complacency appeared to set in after the resumption as Wicklow came storming back. They had reduced the deficit to three points with seven minutes remaining, and Westmeath needed to call on all their battling qualities in the closing stages to hold off the Garden County challenge. A blistering start, which yielded 2-1 inside the opening five minutes, proved decisive as Westmeath defeated Meath by 2-9 to 1-9 at Cusack Park to book their place in the final of the round-robin series. The victory saw Westmeath avenge their earlier league defeat to the Royals, although Pat Clancy's charges played that game knowing they had already qualified for the final. Westmeath made several positional changes from the Wicklow game, while Philip Gilsenan returned to bolster the midfield. However, the Brownstown man didn't finish the game after receiving his marching orders from Offaly referee Tony Carroll in the final quarter. Westmeath opened in sensational fashion, with Jimmy Greville and Killian Cosgrove notching early goals. Cathal O'Malley got the shell-shocked visitors off the mark in the ninth minute, but four more unanswered points from Cosgrove (three) and Greville left Westmeath perched on a 2-5 to 0-1 lead after 16 minutes. The home side were 2-7 to 0-2 to the good at half-time, but just as they had done against Wicklow, allowed their opponents back into contention in the second half. Three quick points from Peter Dorran gave the Royals hope and when Paul Garvey fired past Paddy Maloney with time almost up only three points separated the sides. However, Westmeath hold on for the win to book their place in the final of the round-robin series with a round still to play against Carlow. Needing to win, Carlow ended Westmeath's unbeaten run with an emphatic showing at Dr Cullen Park. The first 20 minutes were one-way traffic with the fired-up home side notching up a remarkable tally of 5-3 to no reply from Westmeath. By half-time, the Barrowsiders had increased their lead to a massive 24 points, 6-8 to 0-2, and although Westmeath managed to stem the tide in the second half, they still ended up on the receiving end of a 0-5 to 6-11 drubbing. That result handed Carlow a huge psychological advantage ahead of the round-robin final which took place at St. Loman's in early May. And despite showing a big improvement on the Dr Cullen Park debacle, Westmeath still slumped to a 0-7 to 2-11 defeat. Carlow held all the aces and the writing was on the wall for Westmeath as early as the ninth minute when Aaron Cox scored a goal for the visitors, who were playing against a strong breeze. A second goal from Cathal Ryan left Carlow 2-4 to 0-5 in front at the break and with Westmeath losing their discipline in the second half (they had six players yellow-carded), the outcome was never in doubt. The win put Carlow through to the Leinster championship quarter-final where they suffered a narrow defeat to neighbours Laois. After a lengthy lay-off, Westmeath competed in the All-Ireland 'B' championship which ended in another defeat to Carlow at O'Moore Park, Portlaoise. This proved to be the closest of the four meetings with the Barrowsiders prevailing by just two points, 1-12 to 3-4. In the absence of Killian Cosgrove whose services were sought by the senior side against Down in the Christy Ring Cup, substitute Niall Kilcoyne almost single-handedly carried the scoring threat to Carlow, finishing with a personal tally of 3-2. But his virtuoso showing was not enough to prevent another reversal. Carlow set the tempo from the start and led by 0-6 to 0-3 at the break. When John Folan took advantage of a mix-up in the Westmeath defence to find the net early in the second half, the Lake County looked to be heading for another heavy defeat but Kilcoyne's heroics brought them back into contention before late points from Jack Kavanagh earned the Barrowsiders a place in the final and ended a disappointing season for the the maroon and whites. Tweet

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