Missed opportunity
April 30, 2010Westmeath's best under 21 football team in a decade will be haunted for some time by their failure to beat Dublin in this year's Leinster final.
Following impressive wins over Kildare, Meath and Laois, the Lake County had high hopes of emulating the achievements of the 1999 and 2000 sides, but a below-par first half display, coupled with a failure to take any of four scoring chances which would have brought them level or put them ahead in the closing stages, ultimately proved their undoing.
Despite conceding home advantage for the final, Westmeath supporters turned Parnell Park into a sea of maroon and white on Easter Sunday, but they left disappointed and frustrated, knowing that a glorious opportunity had been allowed to slip. Had they gotten over Dublin, Westmeath would undoubtedly have fancied their chances of bringing a first All-Ireland title to the county in 11 years.
With many of the traditional powers exiting their championship at an early stage and Roscommon, Donegal and Tipperary emerging from the other provinces, the opportunity was there for Brendan Hackett's young side to claim their place in history. But sadly, it wasn't taken.
Make no mistake about it this was an extremely talented and well balanced Westmeath team that many considered to be just as good as the county's 1999 All-Ireland winners. But perhaps the crucial difference was they lacked a finisher of the calibre and composure of Dessie Dolan who may well have proven to be the difference between defeat and victory in the Leinster final.
While Westmeath fans will look back on the campaign with many regrets, they can also take many positives. The first positive is that the county's dreadful record at underage level since the Leinster under 21 and minor double was annexed in 2000 has been brought to a halt. Secondly, the under 21 team's exciting run has given hope to a county whose senior stock has dramatically plummeted since the end of 2008.
Having dropped from Division 1 to 3 of the National League in two seasons and suffered their heaviest ever championship defeat at the hands of Dublin last summer, the Westmeath senior set-up is desperately in need of a boost and hopefully an infusion of players from this year's under 21 team will be able to provide that. Brendan Hackett intends bringing as many as 10 under 21s into the senior fold in the coming weeks and it would be no surprise to see half of them starting the Leinster championship quarter-final against either Wicklow or Carlow in June.
Westmeath supporters can also take solace from the fact that 10 of the under 21 team that started the Leinster final are eligible for the grade again next year. The only players who will be overage in 2011 are Darren Quinn, Ronan Doyle, Denis Corroon, Paul Sharry and James Durkan. And it is the management's intention to bring the squad together at least once a month to absorb the lessons of this year and to make sure the same mistakes aren't made again next season.
In contrast to his predecessor Tomas O Flatharta, Brendan Hackett placed a strong emphasis on the under 21 grade and this was reflected in his decision not to play any of his young stars in most of the county's National League games. Some supporters were especially critical of him for not using some of the under 21s against Laois when Donie Kingston started at full forward for the O'Moore County, but the Westmeath manager's decision was vindicated when his side defeated the 2007 Leinster minor champions three days later to qualify for the provincial decider.
Assisted by selectors Johnny Murray and Finbar Egan (who resigned for 'personal reasons' on the eve of the Meath game), Hackett led Westmeath into championship battle for the first time against Kildare at Cusack Park on February 20. The Lake County dominated the opening 30 minutes to lead by 1-5 to 0-3 at the break, but they only managed one further point in the second half and were left hanging on for a 1-6 to 0-6 victory.
Such was Westmeath's superiority in the first half that they should have been out of sight by half-time. After Darroch Mulhall gave the Lilywhites a second-minute lead, the home side's midfield partnership of John Heslin and Denis Corroon completely dictated the play. An in-form Callum McCormack levelled the scoring with the first of his three points, but Westmeath were guilty of missing at least three goal chances before James Durkan finally netted three minutes before the interval to give them an unflattering five-point advantage.
The Lake County continued to miss chances after the restart, with John Egan unlucky to see his goal-bound effort come back off the upright in the 35th minute. The more Westmeath missed, the more Kildare's confidence grew and they had narrowed the gap to just three points when substitute Danny Egan was denied an equalising goal in the final minute by the crossbar and Darren Quinn saved from the rebound.
Westmeath's prize for beating the Lilywhites was another home tie against Meath in the quarter-final. The signs looked ominous when Colm O'Rourke's young Royals raced into a 0-5 to 0-1 lead after 12 minutes thanks to the brilliance of their attack leader Brian Sheridan.
But following the switch of centre back Kieran Martin onto the big full forward, Westmeath gradually clawed their way back into the game and goals from Paul Sharry and James Durkan has the teams level, 2-3 to 0-9, at the interval.
While the Royals had a goal and a point after the restart to open up a two-point lead, they wouldn't score again for 24 minutes as Westmeath blitzed them with 10 unanswered points. Westmeath's 17-year-old midfielder John Heslin gave an exhibition of high fielding and long-range point-taking as the impressive home side set up a St. Patrick's Day showdown with Laois, again at Cusack Park.
The O'Moore County proved to be significantly tougher opposition than the Royals and Brendan Hackett's charges needed to dig deep for a 0-14 to 0-11 win. Played before a 2,200-strong attendance, the game's turning point came 10 minutes into the second half when Laois' Adam Ryan was issued with a straight red card. The half forward had just put his side back into the lead but, as he returned to his position, he struck out at Kieran Martin and was sent off by referee Fergus Kelly on the advice of his linesman.
Three frees from man of the match Ian Coffey gave Westmeath an early 0-3 to 0-1 lead, but the wind-assisted visitors fought back to lead by 0-7 to 0-6 at the break after the sides had been level four times.
Midfielder Donie Kingston had been the game's dominant figure in the first half, but his influence waned after the restart as the Westmeath pair Denis Corroon and John Heslin began to get on top.
Scores from Kingston and Paul Cahillane pushed the O'Moore County into a 0-9 to 0-6 lead on the restart, but the home side rallied and were level by the 39th minute.
Then came the dismissal of Ryan and Westmeath made the most of their numerical advantage to book their place in the final against Dublin thanks to points from Heslin, Callum McCormack, Coffey, James Durkan, Conor Lynam and Paul Sharry.
An estimated 5,000 Westmeath supporters swapped their Easter eggs for a day out in Parnell Park, but they left the Donnycarney venue - which has never been a happy hunting ground for the Lake County - bitterly disappointed followed a 0-9 to 1-12 defeat, which did scant justice to the visitors' brave effort.
Most of the damage was done in the first half when a nervous-looking and physically smaller Westmeath team struggled to get to the pace of the game and this allowed Dublin to build up a 0-9 to 0-3 lead by half-time. A very inconsistent refereeing display by Offaly official Damien Brazil only added to Westmeath's sense of frustration.
The visitors needed scores early in the second half to have any chance and two frees from Conor Lynam had the margin down to four points in double-quick time. After Dean Rock had put Dublin into a 0-10 to 0-5 lead, Westmeath continued to drive forward and two more points from Lynam (one frees) left just a goal in it with 20 minutes still to play.
Despite giving three years to many of his opponents, John Heslin was lording the midfield exchanges at this stage and the Westmeath supporters were in full voice when further points from Lynam and his industrious St. Loman's colleague Paul Sharry left the minimum between the sides with 13 minutes remaining.
Such was Westmeath's momentum and dominance that it seemed only a matter of time before they drew level, but their composure deserted them when they needed it most. The game's undoubted turning point came 10 minutes from the end when James Durkan's goal attempt flew inches wide of the post. Further wides from wing back James Dolan (two) and sub Thomas McDaniel increased the sense of panic in the Westmeath team and they were made to pay for their profligacy in the 59th minute when Nicky Devereux and substitute Jonathan McDermott combined to set up Ciaran Dorney for a stunning goal.
This match-winning score completely deflated the men in the maroon who conceded two more points in injury-time as a lucky Dublin team claimed their ninth provincial title in the grade.
The Westmeath team which faced Dublin in this year's Leinster under 21 football final was: Darren Quinn; Ben Moran, Kevin Maguire, Ronan Doyle; Ger Egan, Kieran Martin, James Dolan; Denis Corroon (captain), John Heslin; Paul Sharry, John Egan, Conor Lynam; Ian Coffey, Callum McCormack, James Durkan. Subs used: Lorcan Smyth, Thomas McDaniel and Shane Mulvihill. Tweet
