Down end Westmeath's unbeaten run

Down 3-13, Westmeath 3-6

Westmeath proved to be no match for Down’s midfield and central prowess in a cloudy, bright yet nippy Multyfarnham last Sunday afternoon.

It was the hosts' first defeat of the Minor B Championship, while the visitors remain unbeaten in the competition heading into their final rescheduled clash.

At the end of the first half, the Lake County found themselves four points adrift and were still very much in the game despite being outplayed for long periods.

Grace Downes’s second goal wasn’t enough to turn the tables for Westmeath, and the hosts finally creaked in the final moments of normal time when Katie Quinn found the net, killing off any hope of a revival.

Daire O’Shea’s brace of frees within the first five minutes of the match, the first coming after just 35 seconds, signalled Down’s intent.

Westmeath responded with a Grace Downes point in the ninth minute, but already the Mourne County had a grip around the middle of the pitch, and the half-back line was sweeping up all before them.

It was in these conditions that the visitors found the net two minutes later; Daire O’Shea caught the sliotar from the clouds and fed Katie Quinn, who turned and slid the ball under Lara Doyle and over the white line.

By the 20th minute, Roisin Connaughton for Westmeath and Daire O’Shea for Down had traded points from open play before the Lake County struck for their opening goal two minutes later.

A free fell into the box where Abbie McCauley was waiting to pounce with her foot to have the Down net bulging.

The next puck-out was then delivered, and Down's Niamh McConville was running at the throat of the hosts' defence to send her shot beautifully into the top right-hand corner of the net.

The visitors would continue applying the pressure; a brace of points from Niamh McConville and a Daire O’Shea free put Down into a commanding position before a minute into added-time, Grace Downes’s shot from distance dropped all the way into the net and beyond Hollie Sands. It ensured that although outplayed, the Lake County were only 2-6 to 2-2 adrift at half-time.

Westmeath would have been further behind if it wasn’t for Laura Doyle’s saves throughout the match. Her saves in the 14th, 26th and 46th minute were quite impressive, but the save of the match was without doubt in the 51st minute when she superbly denied Caitlin Fay for what seemed a certain goal in a one-on-one scenario. Hollie Sands also had to pull off a save for Down in the 16th minute, though she wasn’t called upon as much as her opposing number.

Roisin Connaughton of Westmeath and Hannah Shields of Down opened the scoring for their respective counties in the second-half before the Lake County found goal number three to breathe new life into their fight.

Abbie McCauley had dropped the ball on route to goal with Caoimhe Clarke unmarked beside her, before Grace Downes was following up to pull on the ground and send the ball trickling home.

Down would weather the storm thanks to Hannah Shields and Katie Quinn, the latter in particular tormenting the opposing defence in an awesome second-half display. Roisin Connaughton’s brace kept Westmeath in the hunt, until Katie Quinn ensured Down’s triumph when she struck the ball low and hard beyond Laura Doyle.

Abbie McCauley for the hosts and substitute Caoimhe Mulholland for the visitors would bookmark their respective teams scoring accounts, but Down were convincing winners on this occasion.

Scorers - Westmeath: Grace Downes 2-1, Abbie McCauley 1-1, Roisin Connaughton 0-4 (0-1f).

Down: Katie Quinn 2-4, Niamh McConville 1-2, Daire O’Shea 0-4 (0-3f), Hannah Shields 0-2, Caoimhe Mulholland 0-1.

Westmeath: Laura Doyle; Aoife O’Connor, Claire Loughrey, Katie Muldoon; Rose Macken, Áine Forde, Grace Doyle; Grace Downes, Eva Cawley; Roisin Connaughton, Grace Bracken, Ellen Mulvaney; Rebecca Ward, Abbie McCauley, Caoimhe Clarke.

Substitutes: Annabel Hynes for Grace Doyle (39), Ella Murtagh for Caoimhe Clarke (41), Tara Reilly for Grace Bracken (46), Maggie Bartley for Rose Macken (48), Aoibheann Murray for Katie Muldoon (52).

Down: Hollie Sands; Anna Kearney, Enya McCrickard, Sinead McPolin; Lily Rafferty, Cara Savage, Erin Daly; Caoimhe Dorrian, Clíodna McGrath; Katie Quinn, Daire O’Shea, Hannah Shields; Caitlin Fay, Niamh McConville, Emer Starrs.

Substitutes: Zara Kelly for Emer Starrs (20), Grace Kelly for Lily Rafferty (half-time), Alene Butterfield for Anna Kearney (40), Caoimhe Mulholland for Caitlin Fay (56).

Referee: Paul O’Neill (Antrim).