[ad_1]
Dublin 0-22 Westmeath 1-11
The starters fared better at Portlaoise than elsewhere in the world on Saturday night, when Dublin rocked a tough Westmeath in the Leinster quarter-finals in the pouring rain that has become the hallmark conditions for this winter championship. .
More in keeping with the transatlantic comparison, it was not a landslide, as the first county to undertake the search for a sixth consecutive Ireland was relatively low-key, but there was a cut and a sharpness to their game in the first half as they found scores against the opposing mass defense.
Westmeath coach Jack Cooney was disappointed with the amount of turnovers his team conceded in that period, at the end of which they were trailing by nine and the competition was done.
But they fought well in the second half, were outscored by just two more points, and had a couple of scoring chances, which were more than the champions managed, but by then they were in cruise control.
Ciarán Kilkenny provided the most striking display for the winners, shooting at five game points and putting on one of those perpetual motion performances, which saw him appear in his own line of defense every now and then.
From Dublin’s point of view, there were positives. Securing a victory in the first championship game of Dessie Farrell’s tenure without undue incident would have been a relief to management and there were some new faces in evidence. Tom Lahiff started in midfield and showed the appetite and battery needed for the fray, completing 70 minutes on his debut.
The champions anesthetized the match in the early stages, patiently advancing four ahead with a quick point volley and when the margin was cut in half, they ran again, testing Westmeath’s defense with familiar possession play and capitalizing on any mistakes. to keep the marker marking.
With the bite between the teeth they were effective. Fifteen points by the break was a decent total and all six starting forwards had scored since the game by then; the total kept clicking by Dean Rock’s flawless free take.
The challengers did their best to pressure the attackers and James Dolan energetically blocked when Brian Fenton was a bit languid in the 14th minute and Westmeath’s counterattack attacked with such enthusiasm that only dramatic interventions by John Small, a bit unfairly penalized, and Robbie McDaid with a great block denied him.
Kevin Maguire on defense was exceptionally good throughout, holding down Con O’Callaghan for a while and generally proving difficult to pass, flipping Kilkenny at one point in the second half.
Towards the break, though, despite a challenging spot from Ray Connellan’s left wing at the edge of the break, the effort of it all was starting to take its toll on the underdogs and you would have had a good chance they would show it. hard to shake in the second half, they actually finished stronger.
John Heslin kicked a miraculous point in the 44th minute, after being held back by three Dublin defenders and somehow found the space to shoot the team’s seventh point.
By then, the match was played at an average distance of about 10 points to Dublin, so there was never any sense of uncertainty about the margin sliding to unexpectedly low levels, although by match standards, this was not. by no means the worst setback. suffered by Westmeath.
Farrell became concerned when Eoin Murchan collapsed in a heap with just minutes to go and had to be helped, but it was later confirmed that the flying defender had just suffered a cramp.
So the champions are now on the treadmill and the matches get intense and fast if they keep winning. Next up will be the winners of the Laois-Longford quarter-final at Croke Park next Sunday.
DUBLIN: 1. Stephen Cluxton; 4. Michael Fitzsimons, 6. Jonny Cooper (0-1), 25. Eoin Murchan (0-1); 9. James McCarthy (0-1), 5. John Small, 7. Robert McDaid (0-1); 8. Brian Fenton, 21. Tom Lahiff; 12. Niall Scully (0-1), 11. Ciarán Kilkenny (0-5), 17. Seán Bugler (0-2); 13. Paddy Small (0-2), 14. With O’Callaghan (0-1), 15. Dean Rock (0-7, six free). Subs: 20. Brian Howard for Bugler (48 minutes), 19. Cormac Costello for P Small (52 minutes), 3. David Byrne for Fitzsimons (55 minutes), 18. Aaron Byrne for Scully (60 minutes), 10. Eric Lowndes for Murchan (66 minutes).
WESTMEATH: 1. Jason Daly; 4. Boidu Sayeh, 3. Kevin Maguire, 2. Jack Smith (0-1); 5. Jamie Gonoud, 6. Ronan Wallace, 7. James Dolan; 8. Sam Duncan, 8. Ray Connellan (0-2); 10. David Lynch, 14. John Heslin (0-3, two free), 12. Killian Daly; 13. Luke Loughlin (0-2), 11. Ronan O’Toole (0-1), 15. Kieran Martin (0-2, one mark). Subs: 21. Conor Slevin for Daly (49 minutes), 18. Callum McCormack for Lynch (52 minutes), 19. Lorcan Dolan for Martin (54 minutes), 17. Anthony McGivney for Loughlin (60 minutes), 23. Brandon Kelly for O’Toole (70 minutes).
Referee: Martin McNally (Monaghan).
[ad_2]