Westmeath Connellan brushes past Kilkenny"s Paddy Raftice

Any lofty ambitions which Westmeath hurling folk had of promotion to Division One of the National Hurling League were truly shattered in Cusack Park, when a far livelier Down team emerged as comfortable winners of this second round tie. In truth, this is quite a body blow to the Lake County"s plans for 2009, as early as March 1st. Indeed, two late, late goals from Robbie Jackson and Andrew Mitchell merely served to bring a degree of respectability to the scoreline from a Westmeath viewpoint. Many of Eamonn Gallagher"s marquee names were virtually anonymous on the day and the promise shown in a very gallant display against Offaly a fortnight earlier came to nothing against the side in red and black, over whom the maroon and whites have held the upper hand in recent years. Conversely, the visitors" star forwards, Paul Branniff and Eoin Clarke both produced the goods on the day, bagging 1-7 from play between them, while Clarke"s full-forward line colleagues nabbed the other three goals, on an afternoon when the Westmeath defence was far too often at sixes and sevens. On this evidence, Westmeath"s target must now be to ensure that relegation is avoided at all costs, while, for Down, the encouraging display in their recent defeat by neighbours and rivals Antrim was clearly a more realistic barometer of their current standing in the game. Westmeath lined out with Andrew Mitchell as defensive pivot, the Clonkill man having had his red card against Offaly rescinded and he went on to be one of his side"s more effective players, with his point from play from around 90 metres, in the seventh minute, arguably the score of the entire contest. However, that was a rare memorable moment on an eminently-forgettable day for the home side. It is in no way being disrespectful to Down to say that the concession of 4-18 to a side that Westmeath have regularly beaten in recent years is a blow to Eamonn Gallagher"s ambitions for a fruitful 2009 for his charges. Despite the occasional eye-catching moment from the likes of Dermot Curley and Andrew Mitchell, the defence was often run ragged last Sunday. Indeed, it would be difficult to pick a midfielder or forward who played up to scratch and an overall wide count of 13 to four in Westmeath"s "favour" tells its own story. Clearly, a lot of work will be needed on the training ground if the men in maroon and white are to avoid some more stressful days in this highly-competitive division. For their part, Down will be delighted to have built on a very decent display in their opening game against Antrim. They had a fine centre half-back in Ruairí McGrattan, ably assisted by Simon Wilson on the wing. Ciaran Coulter was the best midfielder on view, while in attack Paul Branniff enhanced his growing reputation, with the lively Eoin Clarke chipping in with five delightful points from play. Footnote Prior to the game, a minute"s silence was observed in memory of the late Tadhg Foley, father of former Westmeath Hurling Board chairman, Billy Foley. SCORERS - Down: P. Branniff (1-8, 0-6f); K. Courtney (2-0); E. Clarke (0-5); S. Wilson (0-3, 1 "65", 2f); S. Clarke (1-0); C. Coulter (0-1); K. McGarry (0-1). Westmeath: A. Mitchell (1-3, 0-2 "65"s, 1-0f); B. Murtagh (0-5, 5f); L. Folan (1-0); K. Cosgrove (1-0); R. Jackson (1-0); E. Price (0-1); C. Curley (0-1). DOWN: Graham Clarke (capt); Fintan Conway, Aaron Dynes, Patrick Hughes; Simon Wilson, Ruairí McGrattan, Michael Ennis; Andy Savage, Ciaran Coulter; Emmet Trainor, Paul Branniff, Conor Woods; Stephen Clarke, Kieran Courtney, Eoin Clarke. Subs: Gabriel Clarke (for Trainor, 14 mins), Kevin McGarry (for McGrattan, inj, 25), Sean Ennis (for Hughes, yellow card, 42), Darren Flynn (for Savage, 64), Alan Higgins (for Woods, 68), Karl Maxwell (for McGarry, 68). WESTMEATH: Jimmy Greville; Conor Jordan, Paul Greville (capt), Dermot Curley; Brian Connaughton, Andrew Mitchell, John Shaw; Paddy Dowdall, Luke Folan; Brendan Murtagh, Darren McCormack, Ciaran Curley; Derek McNicholas, Killian Cosgrove, Eoin Price. Subs: Brian Smyth (for Connaughton, 41 mins), Daniel Carty (for Cosgrove, yellow card, 42), Robbie Jackson (for Folan, 45), Darren Kilcoyne (for Smyth, yellow card, 59), Michael Geraghty (for Dowdall, 69), Alan Aughey (for Price, 69). REFEREE: Sean Whelan (Wexford).