Sport

Yellow cards a highlight to vex Ryan

Kehoe Cup/ Athlone IT 0-16 Westmeath 1-7: A comfortable victory for Athlone IT was overshadowed by the new yellow card rule …

Mon Jan 31 2005 - 00:00

Kehoe Cup/ Athlone IT 0-16 Westmeath 1-7: A comfortable victory for Athlone IT was overshadowed by the new yellow card rule and afterwards Westmeath boss Tom Ryan blasted the experimental rule as a "total fiasco".

"I can't understand from watching hurling down the years why they have to change the rules. They don't know what they're doing about football and that's their own business. I'm not concerned at all about football but I am concerned about the shambles that went on out there today," said Ryan.

"These rules won't stay at all. They will destroy league hurling and they'll be happy then when they make a shambles of the league. Then they'll throw them out like they threw out the sin bin."

Four Westmeath players and two of Athlone IT's company were forced to leave the field after being shown yellow cards, while AIT substitute Ray O'Regan was red carded in the second half.

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Westmeath led by 0-6 to 0-5 at the interval but only scored one point in the second half until a late Derek McNicholas goal. The home side never looked in trouble in the second half even after O'Regan's sending-off.

AIT had handsome scoring contributions from Shane Dooley (son of former Offaly All-Star Joe), Kevin Coen and Martin Nestor.

ATHLONE IT: D Burke; P Flynn, N Corcoran, P Madden; P Donoghue, R Ryland, K Briscoe (0-1); B Cullinane, B Teehan; M Nestor (0-3), S Dooley (0-6, two frees), D White (0-1); K Coen (0-3), M Sweeney, B Smyth (0-2). Subs: R O'Regan for Cullinane (yellow card, 17 mins), Cathal Kelly for Teehan (injured, 23 mins), A Flaherty for White (yellow card, 45 mins), C Bolger for Smyth (69 mins), G Mitchell for Sweeney (70 miins). Red card: R O'Regan.

WESTMEATH: M Briody; M Murtagh, C Murtagh, P Greville; J Shaw, D McCormack (0-1, free), C Jordan; P Williams, A Mitchell (0-5, two frees, one 45); D McNicholas (1-1), B Murtagh, M McNicholas; D Carty, K Cosgrove, K Brazil. Subs: E Loughlin for B Murtagh (yellow card, 17 mins), N Flanagan for Greville (yellow card, 24 mins), D Cunningham for Brazil (half-time), M Egan for M McNicholas (yellow card, 52 mins), M Keane for Cosgrove (yellow card, 55 mins), O Fay for Cunningham (62 mins).

Referee: A Stapleton (Laois).