O'Byrne Cup semi final: Westmeath reached their third final under the management of Páidí Ó Sé yesterday without reaching the levels that will be required come spring time, never mind the summer.
At least they have the O'Byrne Cup decider next weekend, in Mullingar against Laois - a re-run of last year's Leinster final, to iron out the creases. However, Ó Sé will have to plan without Dessie Dolan and John Keane who will be on All Star duty in Hong Kong.
Thankfully, for the football task force ahead of tonight's meeting, the experimental rules were not the major factor in this contest. Granted, four yellow cards were brandished but incursions from the linesmen were nil and, significantly, neither Ó Sé nor Louth manager Val Andrews were overly aggrieved by any decisions.
Only the extra responsibilities imposed on the referee stayed high on the agenda: "I don't know how he keeps counting all these ticks at all," said Ó Sé afterwards. "He'd want an accountant out there with him to keep account of all those ticks. I had no problem with the referee today - I thought he was okay.
"Get me some kind of rule where the pulling and dragging will get out of the game. But I, for one thing, don't want to see a decent big schlep of a shoulder taken out of Gaelic football at all. That would be my only fear," added Ó Sé.
So, for a change this January, the football dominated attentions. Even the positive of seeing John Neary being sent to the bin for using Dessie Dolan as a coat hanger gave substance to the winter experiments. Dolan nailed the free to put his side five points clear and all but kill off the Louth challenge with eight minutes left.
In fact, it was Dolan's early introduction from the bench for Patrick Mulvihill that brought added impetus to the Westmeath attack, which still lacks a cutting edge at half forward.
He kicked the first of four points in the 25th minute to put Westmeath in front for the first time. Mark Stanfield levelled matters but further contributions from Dolan and Denis Glennon made it 0-5 to 0-3 at the break.
Dolan had a goal awarded then disallowed early in the second half after the industrious Simon Gerard clearly caught the ball before it crossed the line. Referee Jim Smith duly overruled the flag-waving umpire.
It mattered little as the Westmeath full forward line was humming. Alan "Buddha" Mangan stole the plaudits off Glennon and Dolan with three quality scores, two in a minute on the hour mark that silenced the already out numbered Louth voices in the crowd. The Leinster champions bring support wherever they now roam.
The sin bin did threaten to disrupt things when Donal O'Donoghue, in the proficient Westmeath full back line, was carded for a second successive week for an innocuous foul. The numerical imbalance was redressed, though, within 60 seconds as Louth's Darren Clarke followed him off for slapping Keane.
Dolan then kicked what appeared to be the insurance point but Louth midfielder David Devanney chipped in with a late goal and point to leave the minimum between the sides. It was a fitting return for the Galway native who struggled to contain the excellent fielding of Rory O'Connell, even spending 10 minutes off the pitch for fouling him in the air.
Yet, as the crowd braced itself for extra-time, the eternally reliable late substitute Joe Fallon kicked a point with Mangan adding another deep in injury-time.
LOUTH: S Connor; G Long, D Shevlin, J Carr; J Neary, S Gerard, R Carroll (0-2); D Hughes, D Devanney (1-1); A McCartney, C Malone, R Kelly; D Clarke (0-1), A Hoey, M Stanfield (0-2, one free). Subs: T O'Brien for Malone (18 mins, inj), K White for Hughes (28 mins, inj), R Rooney for Kelly (38 mins), A Page for Long (53 mins), O McDonnell for McCartney (61 mins).
WESTMEATH: G Connaughton; D O'Donoghue, D Mitchell, J Keane; M Ennis, D Kilmartin, D McDermott; R O'Connell, C Galligan; A Lambden, J Brennan, J McAteer; A Mangan (0-5, one free), D Glennon (0-2), P Mulvihill. Subs: D Dolan (0-4, one free) for P Mulvihill (23 mins), J Fallon (0-1) for A Lambden (61 mins).
Referee: J Smith (Meath).
