Joe McDonagh Cup Round 2

WESTMEATH 4-24 MEATH 2-17

By Conor McKenna at TEG Cusack Park

Westmeath picked up their second win in as many games, overcoming a disappointing Meath outfit, in what was an entertaining Joe McDonagh Cup encounter played out in TEG Cusack Park.

Aonghus Clarke, who was outstanding for Westmeath throughout, got the game's opening score from the throw in, but it was the Royal County who had a dream start to the game, with corner forward Jack Regan finding the net in the third minute.

Meath more then held their own in the opening half, with Niall O’Brien’s free in the 18th minute levelling procedures, but Westmeath pushed on completely from this point onwards, with corner forward Allan Devine finding the back of the net with an excellent finish from close range, with the scoreboard reading 2-17 to 1-6 in favour of the Lake County at the interval.

Meath came back into the game in the second half, but Niall Mitchell’s 48th minute goal was a killer blow for the Royals as it gave Michael Ryan’s charges a 15 point cushion.

Alan Douglas found the net for Meath shortly after and then Nick Fitzgerald’s charges had a real chance to come back into the game, but Darragh Kelly’s penalty was saved by the excellent Paddy Carroll, who had a great game in the Westmeath goals.

Another goal from Allan Devine late on really put the gloss on the score-line for the Lake County, with Westmeath easing to victory, putting themselves in a great position for qualification for the Joe McDonagh final.

Westmeath face a tough trip to Kerry next weekend, whilst Meath host Carlow.

Scorers for Westmeath: Allan Devine 2-2 (2f), Aonghus Clarke 0-7, Eoin Price and Niall O’Brien (2f) 0-5 each, Robbie Greville 1-1, Ciaran Doyle 0-3, N Mitchell 1-0, Derek McNicholas 0-1.

Scorers for Meath: Jack Regan 1-2 (2f), Alan Douglas 1-1,  James Kelly, Patrick Conneely (1f) and Darragh Kelly (2f) 0-3 each, Cathal McCabe and Mark O’Sullivan 0-2 each, Sean Quigley 0-1.

**WESTMEATH: **Paddy Carroll; Shane Power, Tommy Doyle (c), Gary Greville; Liam Varley, Paul Greville, Derek McNicholas; Eoin Price, Cormac Boyle; Ciaran Doyle, Aonghus Clarke, Allan Devine; Niall O Brien, Niall Mitchell, Robbie Greville. **Subs: **Aaron Craig for Liam Varley (50), John Gilligan for Derek McNicholas (54), Darragh Clinton for Cormac Boyle (59), Joey Boyle for Ciaran Doyle (65), Plunkett Maxwell for Eoin Price (68).

**MEATH: **Shane McGann; Niall Weir, Sean Geraghty, Darragh Kelly; Joe Keena, Damien Healy, Keith Keoghan; Sean Quigley, Stephen Morris; Cathal McCabe, James Kelly, Paddy Conneely; Alan Douglas, Colm O Mealoid, Jack Regan. Subs: Adam Gannon for Sean Quigley (26), Shane Brennan for Damien Healy (HT), Mark O’Sullivan for Colm O Mealoid (HT), Pauric Kelly for Jack Regan (HT), Eamonn O Donnchadha for Steven Morris (47).

Referee: Colum Cunning (Antrim)