Westmeath flaws on show in win

The margin of victory may seen a trifle harsh on a plucky Longford side but those who witnessed this Bank of Ireland Leinster championship clash at Pearse Park, Longford would acknowledge that Westmeath were the more accomplished team.

That Brendan Lowry's charges managed to mask that superiority to such an extent that they trailed by five points, 0-12 to 1-4, four minutes into the second half will be a cause of great concern to the manager, no matter how bold his assertions to the contrary.

Westmeath, en route to a seven-point victory, kicked an astonishing 17 wides, several that beggared belief, and really it was not until the closing 20 minutes that they managed to finish with accuracy and authority.

The visitors had created opportunities, several of them excellent goal-scoring chances, but they contrived to spurn them with rank bad shooting. Yet by the very fact that they managed to pick their way through a weak Longford half-back line - Trevor Smullen being an exception - augured well for an eventual return.

When they did manage a greater fluency, inspired by centre half forward Paul Conway's switch to midfield, Ger Heavin and Kenny Lyons finally operated with greater success. Heavin had been amazingly profligate but finished with a total of 1-5.

Lyons's distribution was poor yet he always looked to have the measure of full back Gary Brady: his goal in the 52nd minute was both a turning point and arguably the moment of the match. Team captain John Cooney's flighted ball was brilliantly fielded by Lyons, who turned and drove the ball into the top corner.

This allowed Westmeath to sweep into a two-point lead, one that they never looked like relinquishing. It effectively ended Longford hopes that had begun so auspiciously. Corner forwards Dessie Barry and Padraic Davis were tormenting a beleaguered Westmeath full-back line.

Midfielder David Hannify dominated the centre of the pitch, distributing possession intelligently and causing consternation when striding purposefully at a skittish visiting defence. Davis and Barry exploited the spaces left by a nervous Westmeath full-back line: only John O'Brien was to recover, producing an excellent second-half display.

Longford settled quickly at the beginning of the match, rattling off three points from Barry (two) and Davis to a point from hard-working Westmeath midfielder Damien Gavin. The home side then got themselves in a muddle defensively, allowing John Deehan to race onto Lyons pass and force the ball into the net, possibly off a defender.

To their credit, the home side shook off this setback, kept the scoreboard ticking over, and gratefully accepted the wides that Westmeath tossed their way. Barry and Davis were causing havoc as was evident from Dermot Brady's booking. David Hannify's point following a great run through the heart of the visiting defence was an ideal closing salvo before the interval and earned Longford a two-point cushion.

This they quickly extended to five withion seven minutes of the restart, Padraig Farrell's offering the best finish. Westmeath's precarious position hinted at something more substantial than murmurs of an upset, when all of a sudden they found their range in front of goal.

Conway moved to midfield, and broke ball for the half-forward line to converge on an already crowded area. He also kicked two points and watched as his good work provided similar scores for Heavin and Mark Staunton. Lyons's sublime finish increased Westmeath's momentum and further points from substitute Michael O'Reilly and Heavin removed any lingering doubts as to the the eventual victors.

Another brace of points from Conway, followed by Heavin's fifth, pre-empted Longford's last hurrah, a superbly-taken penalty by Barry which reduced the deficit to a single goal: but no sooner had the roars died than Heavin pounced at the far end, snapping up a loose ball before sliding it under David Roughan.

Shane Colleary's point proved the last incident of note as maroon and white eased through the closing minutes. Longford exposed several aspects of the Westmeath performance that will trouble Lowry. O'Brien's excellent second half could not deflect from the fact that there are problems in the full-back line.

Gavin's honesty and application helped too paper over palpable problems at midfield while three of the six forwards remained of the periphery of proceedings for long periods of the match. Yet, for all these flaws, Westmeath exude menace, possessing a latent ability to hurt teams on the scoreboard.

If they are to seriously trouble Laois they will have to tighten up considerably defensively for their opponents in three weeks carry a greater threat than either Carlow or Longford can muster.

For the home side there was the consolation that they bore the expectation of their county with pride and no little ability and offered enough to suggest that team manager Michael McCormack may enjoy more successful days in the not too distant future.