Conor Donohoe, Dublin, surrounded by Westmeath's David Williams and David O'Reilly at Parnell Park. Photo by Tom Beary/Sportsfile
Allianz Hurling League Division One Group B
Dublin 2-22 Westmeath 0-15
By Gerry Buckley at Parnell Park
A strong last quarter enabled Dublin to eventually shake off 14-man Westmeath.
The teams were tied at 0-2 apiece after six minutes. Aided by a goal line save by Kevin Regan from Paul Crummey in the tenth minute, and a fine stop by Noel Conaty from Diarmaid Ó Dulaing some four minutes later, Westmeath continued to stay very much in touch with their hosts in a somewhat ragged first half. They were still on level terms after 21 minutes (0-4 each).
Joe Fortune’s men were trailing by just three points (0-9 to 0-6) when wing back Aaron Craig was red-carded for a challenge on Donal Burke in the 33rd minute. Burke had scored three points prior to his departure, two of them from frees. Dublin went on to lead at the break by 0-11 to 0-6.
Despite their numerical disadvantage, the midlanders started the second half quite brightly with points from half-time subs Aonghus Clarke and Davy Glennon. Dublin were six points to the good (0-16 to 0-10) when sub Fergal Whiteley cut in goalward and duly pounced for the game’s first goal in the 53rd minute. They quickly added four unanswered points - two of them from corner back James Madden - to more or less put the game beyond the underdogs.
The division’s top scorer, David Williams had a mixed day from frees for Westmeath, but a hat-trick of placed balls without reply had the deficit down to single figures (1-21 to 0-15) at the end of normal time.
However, Madden completed his own hat-trick from play in added-time before Cian O'Sullivan - who had taken over free-taking duties from Burke - sealed the metropolitans' comfortable win with a well-taken goal with the second last puck of the match, after he had been teed up by Whiteley.
Both teams now have a decent break ahead of their respective championship campaigns. Micheál Donoghue’s men start the race for the Bob O'Keeffe Cup with a trip to Wexford on April 21, while Westmeath host Kerry in the first round of what looks like a very competitive Joe McDonagh Cup.
Scorers for Dublin: C O'Sullivan 1-4 (2fs, 1'65'), J Madden, D Sutcliffe, P Crummey, D Burke (2fs) 0-3 each, F Whiteley 1-0, B Hayes, M Grogan 0-2 each, D Leavy, J Malone 0-1 each.
Scorers for Westmeath: D Williams 0-7 (7fs), P Clarke, K Doyle 0-2 each, D Glennon, A Clarke, T Doyle, S McGovern 0-1 each.
Dublin: S Brennan; J Madden, P Smyth, J Bellew; C Crummey, C Donohoe, D Leavy; M Grogan, B Hayes; D Sutcliffe, D Burke, J Malone; D Ó Dúlaing, C O’Sullivan, P Crummey.
Subs: F Whitely for Burke (blood, 33 mins), R Hayes for Ó Dúlaing (46 mins), D Power for Leavy (46 mins), S Currie for Sutcliffe (58 mins), L Murphy for P Crummey (65 mins), S Gallagher for Hayes (67 mins).
Westmeath: N Conaty; D Egerton, J Bermingham, C Gaffney; A Craig, T Doyle, K Regan; P Clarke, S McGovern; K Doyle, D Williams, D O’Reilly; D Clinton, N Mitchell, O McCabe.
Subs: D Glennon for Clinton (half-time), A Clarke for McCabe (half-time), E Keyes for Mitchell (42 mins), C Doyle for O’Reilly (46 mins), A Ennis for Bermingham (blood, 58 mins), S Clavin for McGovern (63 mins).
Referee: M Kennedy (Tipperary).