Westmeath fade away as Laois advance to shield final

Westmeath failed to build on a very bright opening as Brian McCormack"s 60th minute goal set Laois on their way to victory in this O"Byrne Shield semi-final amid wintry conditions at Cusack Park last Sunday. McCormack"s well-taken strike - following a Chris Bergin ball inside the Westmeath defence - gave Laois a four-point lead (2-9 to 1-8) and the visitors never looked back from there on. Backed by the stiff breeze in the first half, Westmeath played some splendid football in the opening quarter and led 1-7 to 0-2 by the 16th minute. However, Laois outscored the home side by 16 points (2-12 to 0-2) over the remainder of the contest. Indeed, Westmeath only managed to score one point in the second half, courtesy of a free from substitute Denis Glennon. The inexperienced Westmeath forward line put together some excellent moves in the early stages - albeit against a rookie Laois defence - with impressive full-forward Tommy McDaniel scoring 1-2 from play. But the home side"s attack was starved of a decent supply of ball in the second half. Yet, Westmeath did have their share of scoring chances in the second period, with four wides in succession when the teams were tied at 1-8 apiece proving very costly. The first wide of the game took over 20 minutes to arrive but, by the end, Westmeath had registered ten wides as opposed to six for Laois. Now that Westmeath have made their exit from the O"Byrne Shield, the serious business will begin in less than two weeks when Galway come to Mullingar for the opening round of the Allianz National Football League. While Tomás Ó Flatharta could glean some positives from the first-half display last Sunday, the alarming nature of the fade-out and the lack of options at midfield provide plenty of cause for concern. With Martin Flanagan, David Duffy and David O"Shaughnessy not involved because of injury (Aidan Browne was also absent), the Westmeath midfield pairing consisted of Donal O"Donoghue and Paul Bannon. While Bannon picked up a good deal of loose ball in the first half, he became more and more ineffective as the game wore on and he was eventually replaced in the 48th minute. O"Donoghue was more prominent but he needs a tall, good fielder of the ball beside him if Westmeath are to secure a decent share of primary possession. In the second half, the Laois midfield duo of Padraig Clancy and substitute Brendan Quigley ruled the roost and the scores eventually followed. On the positive side, the displays of centre-forward Enda Leonard and Thomas McDaniel were encouraging for Westmeath, the duo scoring 1-5 from play between them. Conrad Reilly was a creative influence at wing-forward, though he faded somewhat in the second half before injury ended his involvement. Francis Spollen and Rory McGowan made good starts to the game, but found the going tougher as the game went on. In a match where no yellow cards were issued, both sides were still in experimental mode with numerous regulars absent, although the Laois team contained slightly more of their familiar names. The Laois defence was a new-look unit, but, from midfield upwards, the visitors had players like Padraig Clancy, Brian McCormack, Billy Sheehan and Ross Munnelly on show. For their part, Westmeath started with four of last year"s first choice championship 15 - Francis Boyle, Derek Heavin, Donal O"Donoghue and Doran Harte, who started instead of the listed Paul Kelly. With the wind at their backs, Westmeath took the lead with barely 15 seconds elapsed, Garrycastle"s Rory McGowan pointing after a pass by Conrad Reilly. In the third minute, Laois corner-forward Shane Conlon pointed a free to draw the sides level. A minute later, Thomas McDaniel sent the ball over the bar from about 40 yards, before Laois wing-forward Brian McCormack picked out Chris Bergin in space and the latter popped over a point. The men in maroon and white then enjoyed a very fruitful spell, which yielded an unanswered 1-5. Enda Leonard got the ball rolling with a fine fisted point (seventh minute) after a penetrating solo run, and the same player quickly added another point. In the 10th minute, Tubberclair"s Francis Spollen struck an exquisite lineball between the posts from the left hand side. Thomas McDaniel then showed his pace, getting away from his marker and fisting the ball over. On 13 minutes, a superb long ball from Conrad Reilly found McDaniel in behind the Laois defence and the Ballinagore teenager fired to the net with aplomb. A few minutes later, the Laois defence failed to clear their lines following a free from McDaniel and Spollen profited by handpassing the ball over the bar. That gave Westmeath an eight-point lead (1-7 to 0-2) and, at that juncture, Tomás Ó Flatharta"s side looked well poised to reach the final. However, with Laois still to enjoy wind advantage in the second half, Westmeath needed to build a decent lead by half-time. But Laois raised four white flags in succession as sloppiness crept into the home side"s play. Ross Munnelly pointed a free after he was fouled by Joe Clarke who, not surprisingly, looked like a fish out of water at corner-back. Laois then exploited some poor Westmeath marking from a "45", with Shane Conlon playing a one-two with wing-back Darren Strong, before sending the ball over from distance. Chris Bergin escaped with just a black book when he should have been yellow-carded for a high challenge on Donal O"Donoghue. Moments later, Donie Brennan"s involvement was ended after he came off the worst following a committed challenge for the ball from Alan Claffey (Moate All Whites). After Doran Harte gave the ball away with a loose pass, Chris Bergin for once managed to beat the excellent Francis Boyle to the ball and Bergin went on to land a point. Westmeath replied with a much-needed score in the 35th minute, when the prominent Enda Leonard scored his third point from play, after fine build-up play which started in defence with Alan Claffey and Derek Heavin. That gave Westmeath a 1-8 to 0-6 lead at the interval. Within five minutes of the restart, Ross Munnelly scored a superb wind-assisted point as Westmeath started to make things difficult for themselves by hitting several poor passes, with Derek Heavin and Paul Bannon particularly culpable. About 10 minutes into the half, a free from Munnelly came back off the post and the ball broke to Chris Bergin, who was tripped by Joe Clarke and referee Tom Quigley awarded a penalty. Munnelly"s penalty wasn"t particularly well struck but it still managed to get past Cathal Mullin. In the 50th minute, Shane Conlon pointed a free from the left to level the scores (1-8 each). Westmeath had introduced Denis Glennon at midfield in place of Paul Bannon and Glennon found himself up against a much taller opponent in Padraig Clancy. It was Glennon who started a series of Westmeath wides with a shot which was just off target. Shortly afterwards, Francis Spollen missed a free and Donal O"Donoghue was then narrowly wide, before substitute Kieran Martin ended a sniping run with a poor finish. Sean Dempsey"s side made Westmeath pay for their wastefulness as they took control in the final ten minutes or so. In the 59th minute, Padraig Clancy set up Billy Sheehan for a point from close range which put Laois in front for the first time in the game. The all-important second goal arrived just a minute later, Brian McCormack fielding Begin"s delivery ahead of Keith Scally and driving a crisp left-foot shot to the net. With the rain now lashing down, Westmeath"s chances of mounting a fightback looked slim and so it proved. Laois extended their lead when the reintroduced Noel Garvan deftly knocked the ball down to Ross Munnelly, who pointed with ease. Denis Glennon contributed Westmeath"s only score of the half (64th minute free), after he was fouled himself. Billy Sheehan returned the earlier favour from Padraig Clancy by setting up the flame-haired midfielder for a 65th minute point and substitute Colm Kelly then got his name on the scoresheet. Before the end, Brendan Quigley and Darren Strong added points to give Laois an eight-point victory to set up an O"Byrne Shield final meeting with Carlow. SCORERS - Laois: R Munnelly 1-3 (1-0pen, 0-1f); B McCormack 1-0; S Conlon 0-3 (2f); B Sheehan, C Bergin 0-2 each; P Clancy, C Kelly, B Quigley, D Strong 0-1 each. Westmeath: T McDaniel 1-2; E Leonard 0-3; F Spollen 0-2 (1 sideline); R McGowan 0-1; D Glennon 0-1f. LAOIS: Michael Nolan; Damien Murphy, Paul Begley, Rory Stapleton; Peter O"Laoire, Ger Reddin, Darren Strong; Padraig Clancy, Noel Garvan; Brian McCormack, Donie Brennan, Billy Sheehan; Ross Munnelly, Chris Bergin, Shane Conlon. Subs: Peter McNulty for Brennan (inj., 25 mins); Brendan Quigley for Garvan (h-t); N Garvan for Bergin (61); Colm Kelly for Conlon (64); Jason Horan for Strong (69). WESTMEATH: Cathal Mullin; Alan Claffey, Francis Boyle, Joe Clarke; Keith Scally, Derek Heavin, Declan McGuinness; Donal O"Donoghue, Paul Bannon; Conrad Reilly, Enda Leonard, Doran Harte; Francis Spollen, Thomas McDaniel, Rory McGowan. Subs: Denis Glennon for Bannon (48 mins); Willie Murtagh for Clarke (48); Kieran Martin for McGowan (53); Mark Dalton for McGuinness (59); Alan Giles for Reilly (inj., 62). REFEREE: Tom Quigley (Dublin).