Leinster SFC Quarter-Final

DUBLIN 0-22 WESTMEATH 0-11

By Kevin Egan at MW Hire O’Moore Park

The world may have transformed utterly in 2020, but the metronomic brilliance of the Dublin footballers remains untouched.

It was easy to forget tonight that Westmeath were a competent Division Two side in this year’s Allianz League, winning three games and drawing one in some very good company at that level. That wasn’t because they did a whole lot wrong in Portlaoise, but instead because Dublin simply ran through them with a hugely impressive display that saw them attack and defend with plenty of intensity and pace, particularly in the first half when dreamers might have entertained some hope of a famous upset for the Lake County.  

The era of Jim Gavin may be over, but there has clearly been a seamless transfer of power in the capital’s footballing structure. All of the hallmarks of the side that broke the mould by winning five All-Ireland titles in a row were on display here. From the precision of Stephen Cluxton’s kickouts, the pace and purpose of their ball-carrying, and the thoughtful, incisive attacking play that yielded gilt-edged chances, time and again.

The first three minutes of the game saw a couple of turnovers, but remarkably, no break in play. When the ball finally went dead, it was a Dublin line ball that was played into Dean Rock, who duly split the posts from 30 metres – and so things continued. One point to no score became four, and while Westmeath rallied with some excellent scores from John Heslin and Luke Loughlin, Dublin’s attack never wavered and by the water break, they led by five, 0-7 to 0-2.

Two keys to their success were easy to identify. Centre forward Ciarán Kilkenny was at his tireless best, working over and back along the forward line to take defenders out of the game and either set up chances for his colleagues, or to open up space for himself. The Castleknock man shot three first half points of his own, while also playing a key role in several more.

Behind that, Dublin attacked Westmeath kickout very successfully.  Nine of their first half points, including three of the first four, came from possession won directly on the Westmeath restart, as Jason Daly as deprived of easy options and instead had to go long, into heavy traffic.

There were bright moments for the midlanders, most notably a stunning score from Ray Connellan right on the stroke of half time, but they couldn’t compete with a balanced Dublin side that saw eight players register at least one score from play in the opening 35 minutes.

From half time, a combination of the increasingly heavy rain and the inevitability of the outcome meant that the contest lost more than a little of the snap and energy that it possessed in the first half.

Westmeath, who had now dropped John Heslin back to midfield, found possession a little bit easier to come by but still struggled to create good chances, often resorting to low percentage efforts from bad angles or long distances.

Dublin’s form dipped too, with good scores like those kicked by James McCarthy and Robert McDaid becoming more like occasional treats rather than a staple diet. Westmeath’s lack of penetration and Dublin’s aversion to risk meant that goal chances were almost non-existent, the only exceptions a Dean Rock flick that as cleared off the line by Ronan Wallace, and at the other end a shot from roving wing back James Dolan that was blocked by Jonny Cooper.

It wasn’t Dublin at their dazzling best, but from the perspective of all those counties trying to prevent five-in-a-row becoming six, it was no less ominous for that.   

Scorers for Dublin: Dean Rock 0-7 (6fs), Ciarán Kilkenny 0-5, Paddy Small and Seán Bugler 0-2 each, Eoin Murchan, Jonny Cooper, Con O’Callaghan, Niall Scully, Robert McDaid and James McCarthy 0-1 each.  

Scorers for Westmeath: Kieran Martin 0-3 (2fs), John Heslin (1f), Luke Loughlin and Ray Connellan 0-2 each, Ronan O’Toole and Ronan Wallace 0-1 each.

DUBLIN: Stephen Cluxton; Michael Fitzsimons, Jonny Cooper, Eoin Murchan; James McCarthy, John Small, Robert McDaid; Brian Fenton, Tom Lahiff; Niall Scully, Ciarán Kilkenny, Seán Bugler; Paddy Small, Con O’Callaghan, Dean Rock.  

Subs: Brian Howard for Bugler (49), Cormac Costello for P Small (51), David Byrne for Fitzsimons (55), Aaron Byrne for Scully (60), Eric Lowndes for Murchan (66).

WESTMEATH: Jason Daly; Boidu Sayeh, Kevin Maguire, Jack Smith; Jamie Gonoud, Ronan Wallace, James Dolan; Ray Connellan, Sam Duncan; David Lynch, John Heslin, Killian Daly; Ronan O’Toole, Luke Loughlin, Kieran Martin.

Subs: Conor Slevin for K Daly (49), Callum McCormack for Lynch (52), Lorcan Dolan for Martin (54), Anthony McGivney for Loughlin (60), Brandon Kelly for O’Toole (70).

REFEREE: Martin McNally (Monaghan).