Murtagh and McCormack point

Westmeath exorcised the ghosts of last year"s Christy Ring Cup final defeat at the hands of Carlow, by beating the Barrowsiders in Sunday"s Kehoe Cup senior hurling final at Kinnegad. New Lake County manager, Eamonn Gallagher landed his first silverware at the helm of Westmeath"s senior hurling outfit, after his charges produced a commanding performance in windy and bitterly cold conditions on Sunday afternoon. Clonkill"s Brendan Murtagh was at the forefront for the Lakesiders once again, clocking up seven points, while Castlepollard"s Darren McCormack produced another terrific performance in the Westmeath vanguard. Apart from adding another hurling gong to Cusack Park"s trophy cabinet, Sunday"s outing will have provided Westmeath panellists with a decent exercise ahead of next weekend"s National Hurling League tie with Antrim. With McCormack playing an effective role in the forward line, and young players such as Ciaran Curley, Luke Folan and Robbie Jackson entering the limelight, Eamonn Gallagher has shown that he"s not afraid to experiment. However, the Antrim fixture will put the Raharney man"s managerial skills to the test, and will serve as an indicator as to how his charges will fare this summer. If they replicate their display during the first quarter of Sunday"s final, then success may well be on the menu. Points from Murtagh (2) and McCormack (4) helped Westmeath into a 0-8 to nil lead, before Carlow mustered any response. The Lakesiders led 0-9 to 0-4 at the break. Although Kevin Ryan"s troops threatened to turn the tables - mainly thanks to a cluster of frees from corner-forward, Ruairí Dunbar - scores from John Shaw, Murtagh and Paddy Dowdall clinched glory for the Lakesiders in the closing stages. After surviving some early pressure from Carlow, Westmeath impressively routed their opponents in the opening quarter. In the third minute, Derek McNicholas shot them into the lead, before Darren McCormack pucked the first of four early points. Moments later, McCormack was set up for his second point by Ciaran Curley and, after seven minutes, he found his range for a third time to extend Westmeath"s lead to four. Luke Folan then made amends for an earlier wide, striking between the posts after making a determined run at the Carlow defence. Two frees followed from Brendan Murtagh, before McCormack notched up his fourth point of afternoon. Carlow, eight points adrift and all at sea, restored some level of stability when captain Edward Coady shot a fine point after 18 minutes. This proved to be the lynchpin for a slight turn in their fortunes, as Westmeath"s output dried up. Two frees from Ruairí Dunbar reduced the arrears to five points, but Murtagh kept daylight between the teams by terrifically converting a 65 metre award on 32 minutes. This achievement was mimicked by Carlow"s Shane Kavanagh two minutes from the half-time whistle. The Barrowsiders were down five at the break, but it could have been much worse for them. Masterful Murtagh Ruairí Dunbar picked up where he left off in the first half, cutting Westmeath"s advantage to four points with another free moments after the restart. But the masterful Brendan Murtagh was on hand for the hosts once again, notching up his first point from play. Dunbar had yet another free cancelled out by Murtagh on 45 (free), and things went from bad to worse for the Dolmen County when their skipper Edward Coady was sent to the line after being yellow carded; a similar fate awaited John Coady minutes later. But Carlow"s never-say-die attitude brought them within three points of parity, with sub Richard Coady upping the visitors" points tally to eight. Coady"s point followed another free from the reliable Dunbar. However, with nine minutes remaining, a tremendous point from Westmeath sub Robbie Jackson rallied the Lake County troops again, and Carlow never recovered. A superb score from John Shaw then moved the hosts into a 0-13 to 0-8 lead. Carlow"s Hugh P. O"Byrne briefly gave the small group of away supporters hope on 63, when he made a determined run in search of a crucial goal; but he was smothered by an astute Westmeath defence, which was well served by Greg Gavin, Paul Greville and Conor Jordan. A quick Westmeath counter-attack resulted in a sixth point for Brendan Murtagh, and victory was assured a minute later when the prolific Clonkill forward put seven between the sides. Ruairí Dunbar excellently converted a 65 metre award with four minutes remaining, moments after Westmeath had Dermot Curley dismissed for a yellow card offence. But these late developments brought little comfort to a defeated Carlow, whose Kehoe Cup coffin was finally nailed shut when the tenacious Paddy Dowdall shot between the posts. SCORERS - Westmeath: B Murtagh 0-7 (3f, 0-1 65"), D McCormack 0-4, D McNicholas, L Folan, R Jackson, J Shaw and P Dowdall 0-1 each. Carlow: R Dunbar 0-6 (5f, 0-1 65"); E Coady, S Kavanagh (f) and R Coady 0-1 each. WESTMEATH: Pat Burke; Greg Gavin, Paul Greville (capt.), Conor Jordan; Dermot Curley, Andrew Mitchell, Brian Connaughton; Paddy Dowdall, Luke Folan; Brendan Murtagh, Darren McCormack, John Shaw; Killian Cosgrove, Derek McNicholas, Ciaran Curley. Subs: Dan Carty for C Curley (43), Robbie Jackson for Folan (54), Alan Aughey for McNicholas (57), Darren Quinn for D Curley (yellow card, 66). CARLOW: David Miley; Derek Byrne, Des Shaw, Dwayne Kavanagh; Edward Coady (capt.), Shane Kavanagh, Paul Keogh; James Hickey, John Rodgers; Colin Hughes, Joe Waters, Hugh P. O"Byrne; Ruairí Dunbar, Robert Foley, Craig Doyle. Subs: John Coady for Hughes (27), James Keane for Waters (h-t), Richard Coady for J Hickey (inj., 38), Micheál Ryan for E Coady (yellow card, 45), Willie Hickey for J Coady (yellow card, 52), Barry Cox for Keogh (65). REFEREE: Fergus Smyth (Meath).