Joe McDonagh Cup: Antrim defeat Westmeath

Joe McDonagh Cup

Antrim 2-29 Westmeath 2-20

By Maghnus Dunne at Corrigan Park

Antrim earned a nine-point victory over Westmeath in the fourth-round fixture of the Joe McDonagh Cup.

The hosts got off to a great start firing scores over from out wide with Ryan McCambridge and Seáan Elliot both having white flags raised inside the opening stages.

The newly resurfaced pitch certainly took some adjusting to for both sides, with the players struggling to pick up the ball on the fresh sod, but soon after the early Antrim scores, Westmeath got their scoring underway through David Williams after a hat-trick of frees levelled the tie at the quarter hour mark.

Elliot continued to find his range for the Saffrons with Williams following suit with some excellent set-piece play in an intense affair.

As the first half entered its final half, the game sprung into life with both sides exchanging scores firstly with Eoin Keyes for the away side before Keelan Molloy got off the mark with a great effort over the shoulder.

Éamon Cunneen managed to find some space in the Antrim final third which was followed by a great Darragh McCormack score, but soon Antrim found a reply when Oisin Donnelly pointed to reignite the offensive.

Westmeath would strike a major in the final moments of the when Antrim were caught out from a puckout, and the ball found its way into the hands of Darragh McCormack who punished the home side and found the net.

Rather than push on, it was the hosts who would find a resurgence and after a trio of frees from Seaán Elliot the score was levelled ponce again.

Davy Fitzgerald's men ended the half in brilliant fashion with Oisin Donnelly managing to prod home the rebound from an initial effort by Conall Bohill, restoring the lead with a few moments remaining of the first half.

A series of scores from James McNaughton, Paul Boyle and Keelan Molloy extended Antrim’s advantage to five by the time the small whistle was sounded.

Antrim continued to look the better side, and certainly the more efficient when James McNaughton opened the second-half scoring.

A superb score after Joseph McLaughlin shows some trickery to grant Ryan McCambridge a chance at goal only for his hooked effort to clip the bar for a white flag. McLaughlin earned himself a score instantly with a great point to continue adding to his sides lead.

Eoin Keyes would cut the deficit as he managed to scramble the ball over the line after capitalising on a defensive error from Antrim and after rounding Cormac McFadden, the net was at his mercy.

Westmeath looked to rally with great scores from David Williams before Josh Coll also earned a white flag and the deficit was reduced to the minimum with all momentum lost for the hosts.

A combination of the subs managed to work wonders for Antrim, Joseph McLaughlin found the net, after Jack McCloskey and Ruairi McCormack combined before finding the Cushendall forward who drilled his effort beyond Eoin Aughey.

Gerard Walsh’s late stop from a David Williams free which threatened to be goal-bound saw Antrim survive a late scare, with scores from McLaughlin from a deadball earned a victory on their return to Corrigan Park.

Scorers for Antrim: Joseph McLaughlin 1-4 (2fs), Seán Elliot 0-7 (5fs), Ryan McCambridge 0-5, Oisin Donnelly 1-1, James McNaughton 0-3, Jack McCloskey 0-2, Paul Boyle 0-2, Keelan Molloy 0-2, Conal Cunning 0-1, Ruairi Donaghy 0-1, Ruairi McCormick 0-1.

Scorers for Westmeath: David Williams 0-10 (8fs), Darragh McCormack 1-3, Eoin Keyes 1-1, Josh Coll 0-2, Peter Murphy 0-2, Cian McCarthy 0-1, Matthew Cunningham 0-1.

Antrim: Cormac McFadden; Joe Maskey, Paddy Burke, Stephen Rooney; Oisin Donnelly, Niall O’Connor, Gerard Walsh; Ryan McCambridge, Paul Boyle; Keelan Molloy, Conall Bohill, James McNaughton; Conor Johnston, Seán Elliot, Conal Cunning

Subs: Joseph McLaughlin on for Seéan Elliot (50’), Ruairi McCormick 0-1 on for Oisin Donnelly, Ruairi Donaghy on for James McNaughton (61’), Ryan McCambridge off for Cormac McKeown, Rory McCloskey on for Joe Maskey (63’).

Westmeath: Sean Jackson; John Fry, Naoise McKenna, Darragh Smith; Jack Gillen, Rory Keyes, Adam Bate; Jack Kearney, Peter Murphy; Eamonn Cunneen, David Williams, Marc Cunningham; Darragh McCormack, Eoin Keyes, Josh Coll

Subs: Eoin Aughey on for Sean Jackson (HT), Darragh Egerton on for Jack Gillen (41’), Ciarn McCarthy on for Adam Bate (45’), Josh Coll off for Matthew Cunningham (59’).

Referee: Alan Tierney (Tipperary).