Wonderful westmeath power into leinster sfc semifinal

Westmeath senior football manager Tom Cribbin and his players had plenty to smile about in Cusack Park this evening, as the Lake County overcame some fraught moments to rout Wexford and reach a Leinster SFC semi-final in some style.

A Kieran Martin goal ten minutes from time settled the nerves, as the hosts outscored the Slaneysiders 1-9 to 0-1 to set up a meeting with the old enemy, Meath, in Croke Park on June 28.

Prior to that, Westmeath were well and truly on the ropes, with marquee Wexford forward Ciaran Lyng masterful from placed balls. The Yellowbellies led 0-14 to 0-12 with moments to go, as Westmeath stared another home championship defeat in the face.

Their case wasn't helped by the loss of both Ray Connellan and full back Kevin Maguire to black cards – two of three such cards shown by Longford whistler Fergal Kelly, whose penchant for stoppages and cautions would see you forgiven for thinking that cynical, defensive play was the order of the day.

It wasn't the case, though, as both teams served up some magnificent, open, attractive football from the throw-in.

Westmeath had the best of the opening quarter, winning every ball in midfield and leading 0-5 to 0-2, with Martin and St Loman's star Shane Dempsey kicking two wonderful braces from play.

The Lake County's ability to dominate the centre of the park faded though, and Wexford came back into it, albeit heavily reliant on Lyng's remarkable free-taking talents. Westmeath led 0-8 to 0-7 at the break, themselves dependant on a handful of frees from John Heslin.

Ray Connellan's receipt of a black card for an off-the-ball transgression was a major blow however, and surprising given that moments beforehand, Wexford's Colm Kehoe escaped a similar fate despite dragging Westmeath's Paul Sharry by the neck.

But Connellan's brother John deputised admirably, kicking Westmeath's first point of the second half.

Seven minutes in, Shane Dempsey produced another choice score to put the Lake County three ahead, but a rot set in for the ensuing 15 minutes.

In that time, Westmeath added only one more score as Lyng and corner forward Kevin O'Grady masterminded Wexford's first lead of this sunny afternoon, and in the meantime, Maguire's black card exacerbated the hosts' quandary.

But some re-jigging from the bench – including the introduction of Leinster medallist Denis Glennon, and Denis Corroon's reassignment to midfield – rejuvenated Westmeath.

A Wexford mistake led to Martin's 60th minute goal – a breathtaking move involving Heslin, Glennon and Ger Egan, which was calmly dispatched to the net by the Maryland man.

Suddenly, it all came together. Egan (2), James Dolan and John Gilligan all found their range with sublime scores. Glennon (2), Paul Sharry, Heslin and John Connellan also raised white flags, as Westmeath sauntered to a 1-21 to 0-15 win.

Though the jury is out as to whether Kevin Maguire will be available for Croke Park – the Caulry man has picked up two black cards and a sending-off for two yellows this year – the chance is there to make history on June 28, and finally put the Meath championship hoodoo to bed.