McCormack bags four goals as Westmeath whip Wicklow

Eamonn Gallagher"s tenure as Westmeath senior hurling manager got off to a terrific start in Greystones on Sunday afternoon last, when the visitors demolished a very disappointing Wicklow side in their Kehoe Cup opener for 2009. With "outsiders" Galway and Antrim plying their trade in the more prestigious early season competition, the Walsh Cup, the "real" Leinster maroon and whites were clearly determined to lay down a marker and, while it must be said that the Garden County were but a pale shadow of the determined and skilful outfit who turned over Westmeath in the Christy Ring Cup only six months ago, the Lake County men produced a very encouraging display. The game was well and truly over as a contest at half-time, with Castlepollard defensive maestro Darren McCormack revelling in his new full-forward role and contributing four goals to a 25-point lead for the wind-assisted winners. Inevitably, on the change of ends, the match petered out to a tame conclusion and despite the backing of a near gale-force wind, the home side only managed to draw the second moiety. Despite an array of dark clouds hovering over the picturesque venue, thankfully the handful of travelling fans managed to stay dry, as there was no stand in the grounds. A small number of local fans were also present but they got absolutely nothing to shout about over the 70 minutes. On this evidence, whoever is charged with advancing the state of Wicklow hurling has a mammoth task. It was patently obvious from the outset that the side with wind advantage would dominate proceedings but Westmeath"s early wastefulness was a real worry to the management. The only early score came in the third minute from a Brendan Murtagh "65". A converted 40-metre free from Murtagh doubled Westmeath"s lead in the eighth minute, before Andy O"Brien opened the losers" account with a fine flicked point under pressure. However, within a matter of seconds, Brendan Murtagh"s first point from play precipitated a barrage of Westmeath scores. Four points in as many minutes ensued from the sticks of Killian Cosgrove (making a very welcome return to the maroon and white colours), Murtagh again, debutant Luke Folan and veteran Andrew Mitchell. With a quarter of an hour on the clock, another newcomer Ciaran Curley did very well to set up Darren McCormack and the man renowned for preventing scores showed he can take them too when he blasted the ball to the net from 15 metres. The green flag was not long back in its slot when the umpire was waving it again, this time Paddy Dowdall picking out McCormack, whose low shot hopped into the corner of the net, to make it 2-7 to 0-1 for Westmeath. Westmeath scores continued to come thick and fast and a fabulous point from Killian Cosgrove was immediately followed by an equally fine score from near the sideline by Brendan Murtagh. In the 18th minute, Ciaran Curley seemed to be going for a goal but his powerful shot whizzed over the Wicklow crossbar. Within a minute, Darren McCormack had completed his hat-trick, batting the sliotar to the net after a very clever through ball from Brendan Murtagh. The latter player then had a rare miss from a free but soon compensated from another placed ball. Andy O"Brien slotting over a free for his side"s second score. From a Westmeath perspective, normal service resumed for the remainder of the first moiety. A neat point from John Shaw was quickly followed by a straightforward score from Paddy Dowdall. On the stroke of 35 minutes, Ciaran Curley nabbed his second point with a tidy finish and, in injury-time, the rout continued with McCormack"s fourth goal, the full-forward burying the ball in the net from close range. In the last action of the half, Murtagh rifled the ball over from 55 metres, leaving an embarrassing scoreline for the home fans with Westmeath ahead by 4-15 to 0-2. The second half was simply a damage limitation exercise for the men in blue and gold, but to their credit they battled manfully from the off and were rewarded with a pointed free from Andy O"Brien in the second minute. Their best player, midfielder Jonathan O"Neill, was then just wide from a massive free but Westmeath should have increased their advantage when newcomer Alan Aughey ran the ball out of play when well positioned. The two number 9s, Paddy Dowdall (Westmeath) and John Connors (Wicklow) exchanged fine points before Jimmy Greville showed he was maintaining his concentration despite the scoreline, doing well under pressure from a combination of Christopher Moorehouse and Eoin Mason. The lethal Murtagh-McCormack combination again surfaced with the former"s shot dropping on top of the Wicklow net and the Clonkill and Leinster star added another point from a free in the 16th minute. The home team"s woes were compounded when Alan Driver was dismissed on a yellow card for a foul on Ciaran Curley. Wicklow substitute, Anthony Driver chipped in with his side"s only goal of the afternoon in the 23rd minute when he got the decisive touch to Jonathan O"Neill"s through ball, but the score barely created a murmur among the crowd. Westmeath tagged on three further unanswered points, Darren McCormack adding a point to his four first-half goals, with substitutes Dan Carty and Michael Geraghty also getting their names on the scoresheet. After the resilient Jonathan O"Neill was unhappy to see his "65" waved wide, the Wicklow midfielder had the small consolation of rounding off match scoring in the 28th minute with a point from a massive free. The closing minutes were a complete non-event and both sets of players seemed more than content to hear David O"Donovan"s last whistle. Given that Westmeath"s opening games in what is likely to be a very difficult Division Two of the National Hurling League are against Antrim and Offaly, this no-contest was of very limited value. However, as is often stated, you can only beat the opposition put in front of you and Eamonn Gallagher"s men produced many positives all through, with Ciaran Curley proving to be the pick of the new faces. The defence was almost totally untested but the Darren McCormack full-forward experiment was certainly a success, even if he would not be given so many great goalscoring chances in a normal training session. The return of Killian Cosgrove is a tremendous fillip to the squad and Brendan Murtagh remains a forward of the highest calibre. Westmeath: Jimmy Greville; Dermot Curley, Paul Greville, Conor Jordan; Andrew Mitchell (0-1), Brian Connaughton, Darren Quinn; Luke Folan (0-1), Paddy Dowdall (0-2); Ciaran Curley (0-2), Brendan Murtagh (0-9, 0-1 "65", 0-3f), John Shaw (0-1); Killian Cosgrove (0-2), Darren McCormack (4-1), Alan Aughey. Subs: Robbie Jackson for D. Curley (53 mins); Dan Carty (0-1) for Aughey (56); Michael Geraghty (0-1) for Shaw (56); Darren Kilcoyne for Dowdall (65); Killian Murphy for C. Curley (65); Antoin Savage for Mitchell (67). Wicklow: Ted Kennedy; Billy Cuddihy, Eoin O"Neill, Jim Connors; Peter Kiely, Joe Murphy, John Harper; Jonathan O"Neill (0-1f), John Connors (0-1); Denis Moran, Christopher Moorehouse, Alan Driver; Fintan Donnelly, Eoin Mason, Andy O"Brien (0-3, 2f). Subs: Colm O"Neill for Harper (16 mins); Anthony Driver (1-0) for Donnelly (30); Ciarán Doyle for Mason (47); Gearóid Ó Murchú for Alan Driver (yellow card, 53); Shaun Byrne for Murphy (injured, 56); Michael Connors for Moran (67). Referee: David O"Donovan (Dublin).