Westmeath...2-15 Wexford...1-14: There were only 21,933 at Croke Park yesterday to witness the beginning of the end. Two counties standing in the doorway of a Leinster final for the first time in several decades. After some heaving and pushing it was Westmeath who ended their 55-year wait, thus completing the stage for this year's novelty final.
Unlike Wexford, they go forward to chase a title they've never actually won. Playing the reigning champions, Laois, will force them to start as underdogs, but it doesn't seem to matter to anyone what mantle you put on this Westmeath team. They were fancied to win this one yesterday and that proved no distraction. They won because they had the desire and ability to do so.
They were partly aided by a stop-start display from Wexford, who were chasing their first final appearance since 1956.
It seemed as if they only got going after 25 minutes, yet Westmeath's scoring was impressive, built on a will that never rescinded over the 70 minutes.
From the throw-in they went straight after the prize. Dessie Dolan was in sparkling form, hunching and swinging and dazzling in the full-forward line.
He was the fire-power behind's Westmeath's early scoring run. They jettisoned ahead by 0-9 to 0-1 in the first 30 minutes, with Denis Glennon and Brian Morley the main counterparts to Dolan.
Later Westmeath manager Páidí Ó Sé described the tactics as something that would be dished out to a prize-fighter - keeping the opponents in the middle of the ring, boxing cleverly, and picking off points.
He may have just bought the complete set of the Rocky movies but he did have a point. Wexford were often on the ropes, and the game was in danger of being over before its time.
Westmeath started like a team that had been wired up on shots of expresso. Corner back John Keane moved on to Mattie Forde from the start and soon had Wexford's star forward frustrated.
Forde did get something of a foot in as the game progressed and ended up with his typical average of 0-8 - but a second yellow card on 69 minutes ultimately made for a forgettable afternoon.
The small turnout did deprive the game of a certain amount of atmosphere. Yet, with two teams desperate to complete the final step in their Leinster journey, there was no lack of competitive edge, even if the sense of urgency resulted in the constant appearance of some basic errors.
Certainly there were far too many cases of players overcarrying and that contributed to a high free-count.
Against that, there was some dogged defending, exemplified by Westmeath full back Donal O'Donoghue and wing backs Michael Ennis and Derek Heavin.
Unfortunately for Wexford, their defence didn't gel so readily. With Dolan in such a slick mood there was little they could do to halt the Westmeath scoring.
Forde's opening free on 15 minutes was their first score, but, while Willie Carley and Paddy Colfer were competitive at midfield, precious little ball was coming into the forward line.
Westmeath were collecting all the breaking balls and converting many of them and it was 30 minutes into the game, when Forde scored from play, before Wexford found their next response.
By then, Westmeath had scored 0-9, and while Wexford did generate two clear goal chances, both were missed. At least they finished out the half with something of a flurry, with Jason Lawlor and Forde closing the gap to five, 0-9 to 0-4.
Instead of building on that new found momentum at the start of the second half, Wexford stayed on the edge. Alan Mangan collected the first of his two points just 20 seconds after the restart and Westmeath were still looking like winners.
Then came Wexford's best period of the game. A superb point from Forde was added to by his brother Pat, and then Darragh Breen popped up to make it three in succession.
Two further points were exchanged before Wexford substitute John Hegarty completed a fine break from Redmond Barry and Pat Forde. The gap was suddenly closed to two, 0-12 to 0-10, with 17 minutes left to play.
Once again, though, the Wexford momentum was short-lived. When Gary Dolan got a little over agitated, Ó Sé quickly took him off, and Shane Colleary helped rekindle the Westmeath dominance. Dessie Dolan won and converted another free before completing the game's defining moment - Westmeath's first goal.
David O'Shaughnessy played in a high ball from the right and, after Dolan's brief flick, Colleary burst through on goal and buried the ball low to the left corner. Westmeath were up 1-13 to 0-10 and didn't look back.
In fairness to Wexford, the heads never dropped, but there was still little going on in their forward line. Another fine point and a free from Forde helped keep things interesting, but then on 65 minutes Colin Galligan, a replacement for the struggling David Mitchell, set up Dolan to put the icing on the cake. He cleanly finished his goal chance, and when running out with arms held aloft it was obvious Westmeath were already thinking about Laois.
There was a consolation goal for Wexford on 67 minutes when Darren Browne set up Lawlor, but the second yellow card shown to Forde - who apparently lunged at Heavin off the ball - completed what was a disappointing afternoon for Wexford.
WESTMEATH: 1. C Connaughton; 4. J Keane, 3. D O'Donoghue, 2. J Davitt; 5. M Ennis (0-1), 6. D Healy; 7. D Heavin (0-1); 8. G Dolan, 9. D O'Shaughnessy; 11. P Conway, 10 B Morley (0-2), 12. D Mitchell; 13. A Mangan (0-2), 14. D Glennon (0-2), 15. D Dolan (1-7, 0-5 frees). Subs: 23. S Collery (1-0) for G Dolan (45 mins), 20. C Galligan for Mitchell (48 mins), 19. J Fallon for Morley (54 mins), 17. JP Casey for Glennon (69 mins).
WEXFORD: 1. J Cooper; 2. D Breen (0-1), 3. P Wallace, 4. N Murphy; 7. L O'Brien, 6. D Murphy, 5. R Barry; 8. P Colfer, 9. W Carley; 10. D Fogarty (0-1), 11. J Hudson, 12. P Forde (0-1); 13. J Lawlor (1-1), 14. D Foran; 15. M Forde (0-8, four frees). Subs: 22. J Hegarty (0-2, one free) for Foran (30 mins), 18. D Browne for Hudson (53 mins), 17. R Hassey for P Forde (60 mins).
Referee: J White (Donegal).
