Westmeath 6-14; Wicklow 1-13: Westmeath advanced to meet Kildare following victory over Wicklow at Cusack Park yesterday.
Wicklow, despite the unavailability of eight regulars, led 0-6 to 0-5 after 31 minutes when Westmeath scored their first goal, Vincent Bateman firing low to the Wicklow net from close range.
Wicklow quickly levelled, Jonathan O'Neill scoring a brace of points. Ronan Whelan was then on hand to score Westmeath's second goal with a rasping shot.
Westmeath, 2-6 to 0-9 in front at half-time, made a great start to the second half, John Shaw rifling the ball low past Thomas Finn. The same player scored his team's fourth goal minutes later and Westmeath led by 4-7 to 0-10.
Having led 4-9 to 0-12 midway through the second half, Westmeath increased their lead when Andrew Mitchell scored a goal from a 20-metre free.
Wicklow's Jonathan O'Neill also scored from a free but Westmeath finished with a flourish, Frank Shaw scoring after a pass from Killian Cosgrove.
WESTMEATH: M Briody, D Curley, B Murtagh, P Greville, D Gallagher (0-1), C Murtagh, D McCormack, P Williams, O Devine, R Whelan (1-2), V Bateman (1-1), A Mitchell (1-7), D Carty, J Shaw (2-1), B Kennedy (0-1). Substitutes: B Connaughton (0-1) for Williams; F Shaw (1-0) for Kennedy; S McDonnell for Devine; K Cosgrove for Carty; D Devine for Mitchell.
WICKLOW: T Finn, Michael J O'Neill, G Keogh, G Bermingham, S Kinsella, Michael A O'Neill, T McGrath (0-1), C O'Toole, G Murray, J Murphy, G Doran(0-1), C Kavanagh, A Tiernan, J O'Neill(1-11), David Moran. Subs - D Doran for Kinsella; Denis Moran for Tiernan; J Sinnott for David Moran.
Referee: Fergus Smith (Meath)
