Leinster SHC Quarter-final/Dublin 2-14 Westmeath 0-11: Conal Keaney might have endured a restless night reflecting on events at Croke Park yesterday. Dublin were cruising, eight points to the good and with just a little over three minutes of the Leinster Hurling Championship quarter-final remaining when the talented dual star was goaded into a rash act.
Having received a dunt from Westmeath corner back Paul Greville after the sliotar had gone, Keaney reacted by swinging round. Whether his forearm, the butt of the hurl or neither of the aforementioned connected, referee Diarmuid Kirwan had no choice. There was intent to strike and Keaney saw red for the second time in a minute.
Greville was far from blameless; the instigator had niggled sufficiently to draw a reaction. If Keaney had been able to count to 10, he'd be playing for Dublin in their Leinster semi-final next Sunday against Offaly. His fate may be determined this week - a ban of anything up to three months.
Keaney was understandably distraught after the match, probably on realising that he had allowed the frustrations of the afternoon to manifest themselves in an inappropriate reaction.
And he will be missed. He scored 1-2, including a penalty, and was twice brilliantly denied by Westmeath goalkeeper Mark Briody even as he was finding Enda Loughlin a handful at midfield.
Indeed, it was a half-time switch by Dublin manager Humphrey Kelleher that changed things, the manager moving captain Kevin Flynn from full forward to midfield, with Keaney headed in the opposite direction: Loughlin, who had been superbly belligerent, faded from the game.
Westmeath recovered from a 2-4 to 0-2 deficit by the 17th minute to be just two points adrift at half-time, scoring seven points to just one in reply from the home side. When corner forward John Shaw grabbed the first point of the second half, Westmeath briefly contemplated emulating their footballers last weekend.
Dublin responded, if not emphatically, then by inflicting a death by a thousand cuts or, to be precise, eight unanswered points.
Corner backs Darragh Spain and the outstanding Aodháde Paor saw them through some rocky moments. Indeed, this Dublin team, apart from being young (average age about 21), have discovered a strong spine from full back Simon Daly, through Ronan Fallon, Liam Ryan and Flynn.
Kelleher admitted: "We started the game very well but faded a bit in the second half of the first half.
"We fell asleep and didn't perform, hitting some silly balls wide. I'm glad there were no tape recorders in the dressing-room at half-time," he smiled.
"We made a few positional changes and it worked. That was the wake-up call and a realisation that there are no easy matches in the championship."
Kelleher singled out 20-year-old substitute Pádraig Fleury, a nephew of former Offaly great Pat, and veteran Johnny McGuirk.
Of the Keaney incident, Kelleher confirmed he hadn't seen it but offered: "I was very disappointed with Conal's sending off. He's in a bad way inside. This game needs the Conal Keaneys. The important thing is that we won playing badly. The raw material is there."
The Dublin manager wasn't looking for excuses as his side prepare for their second game in a week when they take on Offaly at headquarters next Sunday.
"We knew all along that we would be playing that match so it's hardly new and there's no point complaining about it. You're not half as tired when you win as when you lose."
Dublin have removed a coat of rust but the varnish that Keaney would have added will be sadly lacking when they need it most, next Sunday.
DUBLIN: G Maguire; D Spain, S Daly, A de Paor; S Hiney, R Fallon, K Ryan; C Meehan, C Keaney (1-2, penalty, 1 free); D Curtin (0-3, 2 frees), L Ryan (0-2), M Carton (0-1); D O'Callaghan (1-1), K Flynn (capt) (0-1, 65), D Donnelly. Substitutes: P Fleury (0-2) for Donnelly (40 mins); J McGuirk (0-1) for Curtin (53 mins); S O'Shea (0-1) for Meehan (60 mins); S McCann for Carton (68 mins).
WESTMEATH: M Briody; D Curley, C Murtagh, P Greville; O Devine, B Murtagh, D McCormack (capt); R Whelan (0-1), E Loughlin (0-2); J Forbes, V Bateman (0-1), A Mitchell (0-5, 4 frees); D Carty, K Cosgrove (0-1), J Shaw (0-1). Substitutes: B Kennedy for Forbes (18 mins); N Flanagan for Carty (half-time); S McDonnell for Cosgrove (47 mins); D Gallagher for Flanagan (56 mins); P Williams for Kennedy (64 mins).
Referee: D Kirwan (Cork).
