Cathal O'Neill of Limerick in action against Westmeath players from left, David Williams, Owen McCabe, and Tommy Doyle during the Allianz Hurling League Division 1 Group B match between Westmeath and Limerick at TEG Cusack Park in Mullingar, Westmeath. Photo by Michael P Ryan/Sportsfile
Allianz Hurling League Division 1B
Limerick 1-20 Westmeath 0-17
By Gerry Buckley at TEG Cusack Park
Westmeath threatened to pull off a sensational result in Mullingar, but Donnacha Ó Dálaigh saved Limerick's blushes with a 63rd-minute goal in what was a somewhat flattering six-point win for the All-Ireland champions.
Joe Fortune’s men hurled with great spirit in the first half and fully deserved to end the half on level terms, albeit aided by a strong wind. Ironically, it looked ominous for the small home following early on, Limerick coming close to scoring a goal after 25 seconds when Graeme Mulchay’s rasping shot came back off the crossbar. David Williams was on song from placed balls at the other end and he converted seven frees in the opening half (one of them from well over 100 metres), in addition to slotting over a great point from play from a tight angle in the sixth minute.
The home team’s only other score from open play in the first moiety came from the stick of midfielder Shane McGovern just past the half-hour mark. John Kiely’s troops were untypically lethargic and they needed late points from Darragh O’Donovan and Ó Dálaigh (his third) to tie the contest. Their other scores (all from play) came via David Reidy, Micheál Houlihan (two), Seamus Flanagan and Mulcahy. At the interval, the scoreboard read: Limerick 0-9 Westmeath 0-9.
Most spectators expected the Shannonsiders to dominate the second half with the wind behind them, but this expected dominance never materialised as the Lake County men continued to show great heart and no little skill, with sub Joey Boyle to the fore. Niall Mitchell opened the scoring with a great point. Limerick continued to be wasteful and they shot three wides in the opening five minutes before Cathal O’Neill settled their nerves with a neat point. Tit-for-tat scoring saw the underdogs still on level terms (0-14 apiece) with 56 minutes on the clock, and a sensational result was not out of the question at this juncture.
Williams then untypically missed a scoreable free before the Munster men pounced for a crucial 1-2 without reply The points came via a Tom Morrissey free and Reidy’s second long-range point of the afternoon, before Morrissey teed up Ó Dálaigh for a well-taken goal from a tight angle. Another Williams free preceded a missed chance of a goal by Mitchell whose shot flew over the crossbar in the 68th minute. With that, the chance of a massive shock all but ended and Limerick closed out the game with well-taken late points from subs Mark Quinlan, Patrick O’Donovan and Conor Boylan. There was still time for the game’s top scorer Williams to pick up his second yellow card in injury-time.
Scorers for Limerick: D Ó Dálaigh 1-4, M Houlihan 0-4 (two frees), D Reidy, T Morrissey (one free) 0-2 each, D O'Donovan, C O'Neill, S Flanagan, G Mulcahy, C Boylan, G Hegarty, P O'Donovan, M Quinlan 0-1 each.
Scorers for Westmeath: D Williams 0-10 (nine frees), N Mitchell, J Boyle 0-2 each, S McGovern, C Doyle, D O'Reilly 0-1 each.
Limerick: D McCarthy; B Nash, E McEvoy, A Costello; D Byrnes, D Reidy, D Langan; B Murphy, D O’Donovan; M Houlihan, C O’Neill, T Morrissey; D Ó Dalaigh, S Flanagan, G Mulcahy. Subs: C Boylan for Houlihan (51), G Hegarty for O’Neill (51), M Quinlan for Langan (57), P O’Donovan for Mulcahy (60), R Connolly for D O’Donovan (64).
Westmeath: N Conaty; D Egerton, J Bermingham, C Gaffney; J Gillen, K Regan, C Boyle; M Daly, S McGovern; O McCabe, D Clinton, D O’Reilly; N Mitchell, E Keyes, D Williams. Subs: T Doyle for Boyle (inj., 3), P Clarke for Daly (24), J Boyle for McCabe (48), C Doyle for Clinton (60), M Cunningham for Keyes (66).
Ref: C Cunning (Antrim).
