Westmeath 1-14 Kildare 1-10Westmeath turned in a spirited, and at times superb, second-half display to win an enthralling clash against Kildare at Mullingar yesterday.
Despite playing against a lively breeze in the first half, Westmeath went two points clear early in the contest. However, Kildare rallied, edging in front by the midway point of the first half.
Kildare, with Tom Carew and Joe Dempsey prominent, moved 0-5 to 0-2 ahead 20 minutes into the contest, but Westmeath, with the help of Andrew Mitchell's free-taking, trailed by only a point with only five minutes of the first half remaining.
That was soon to change as Kildare's John Ryan made a superb catch and played an excellent pass to Joe Dempsey, who unleashed a 30-yard shot to the roof of the net. Tony Spain added a point to Kildare's total to leave a margin of five points between the teams at half time (1-7 to 0-6).
The home team with the advantage of the breeze in the second half pressed strongly in the early stages. However, they were a little anxious and Kildare initially thwarted their best scoring efforts. But after Vincent Bateman and Barry Kennedy each shot over points in rapid succession, Westmeath started to exert their influence. A further two points from Brendan Murtagh and Andrew Mitchell left the sides level at the midway point of the second half.
Kildare edged back in front with a point but after Andrew Mitchell had pulled Westemeath level, the same player faced up to a 50-metres free. Although not rising the ball sufficiently to score a point, the player was as surprised as most in the crowd to see the ball speeding to the net for a bizarre goal. The teams then swopped further points.
Kildare piled on the pressure in the closing stages but when Alfie Devine scored a soaring point in stoppage time, Westmeath had booked their next-round ticket against Dublin.
WESTMEATH: B Conaty, N Gavin, B Murtagh (0-1), B Williams, D Gallagher, C Murtagh, D McCormack, A Devine (0-2), J Brennan, V Bateman (0-1), G Briody, G Geoghegan, B Kennedy (0-1), A Mitchell (1-9), P Clarke. Subs: D Devine for Geoghegan; O Devine for Clarke; D Carty for Mitchell.
KILDARE: P Ryan, B Maher, J Brennan, N Swan, D Harney, E Denieffe, M Hennessy, N Casey, T Carew (0-2), T Spain (0-3), C Buggy (0-3), J Dempsey, (1-1), J Ryan, C Boran (0-1), D Nolan. Subs: P Beirne for Nolan, E Leamy for J Ryan, A Cross for N Swan.
Referee: J A Gribben (Co Down).
