Westmeath hurling received its biggest boost in years when, against all the odds, Seamus Qualter's senior team became the inaugural winners of the Christy Ring Cup. Here, we look back on a historic success which puts the Lake County back among the 'big boys' of Leinster hurling in 2006. The Westmeath hurlers emerged from the shadow of their football counterparts in spectacular fashion at Croke Park last August when they defeated Down to become the inaugural winners of the Christy Ring Cup. If 2004 had been a historic year for Westmeath football, 2005 was equally historic for hurling in the county. Not since the mid-1980s when a David Kilcoyne-inspired team threatened a major breakthrough, has there been such a buzz about Westmeath hurling. And it's all down to an unlikely victory in the new second tier hurling competition which has given counties such as Westmeath something they can aspire to winning. For Westmeath, success in the new championship seemed an impossible dream following the resignation of manager Tom Ryan just weeks before the campaign began. But out of this crisis emerged a team that would defy the odds. Under the guidance of caretaker manager Seamus Qualter, they put their difficulties behind them and took the Christy Ring Cup by storm. The final, which was shown live on RTE, proved to a wonderfully entertaining contest filled with splendid scores, and the Lake County deservedly emerged victors on a 1-23 to 2-18 scoreline. It was arguably Westmeath hurling's finest hour and should herald a new era for the game in the county. The success puts the Lake County back among the 'big boys' of Leinster hurling in 2006 and hopes are high that the team can build on last year's achievement by beating Dublin and earning a crack at provincial champions Kilkenny in a semi-final which would be played in Cusack Park. Westmeath were besieged by off-the-field problems in the early part of the year and Tom Ryan had threatened to quit on at least two occasions due to poor attendances at training before he finally walked away on the eve of the start of the Christy Ring Cup. Selector and Southern Gaels clubman Seamus Qualter took over the reins at short notice and the rest, as they say, is history. Despite his untimely departure, most hurling followers would acknowledge that Ryan had put in place the structures which made it possible for Westmeath to compete for national honours during his 18 months at the helm. Before the Limerick man's appointment, Westmeath hurling had reached a low ebb, but Ryan brought about an immediate improvement which saw him come tantalizingly close to guiding the team to a National League Division 2 title at his first attempt. "This win reminds me of a time two years ago," recalled team selector and hurling board chairman Liam Davitt at the Westmeath homecoming "when we had met up with Tom Ryan and the place was packed to the rafters with everyone talking about football. I thought then if the footballers can do it, the hurlers can do it as well." Following Ryan's resignation, the players had a meeting among themselves at which a commitment was given that they would do everything possible to bring the Ring Cup to Westmeath. And they certainly stuck to their word, even if the path to glory wasn't always smooth. Westmeath opened their campaign on June 11 with an emphatic 4-19 to 0-11 victory over Roscommon at Cusack Park. An early goal from Joe Clarke put the home side on their way and later in the half Andrew Mitchell added another major to give them a 2-8 to 0-4 lead at the break. The pattern continued in the second half with the team in maroon and white in complete control. Derek McNicholas and Barry Kennedy both found the net to complete the rout. Having beaten Meath in the National League, Westmeath were confident of chalking up their second win at Pairc Tailteann, but the Royals had other ideas and emerged as comfortable 3-16 to 2-10 winners. Meath led by just a point at the interval, but the introduction of Joey Toole enabled them to move up a gear and they ran out easy winners in the end. Westmeath backs were now firmly against the wall and any further slip-ups would put an end to their hopes of progressing to the knock-out stages. In their next outing against Derry, they looked to be coasting to victory when leading by 0-10 to 0-2 at the break, but the Oak Leafers swooped for two late goals and Westmeath were left hanging on for a 1-14 to 2-8 victory. That left the midlanders needing to beat Down - who had already qualified - in their final group match at Newry to reach the semi-final. As it transpired, Westmeath produced one of their best performances in years to win by 3-21 to 3-14 and earn a place in the semi-final at Meath's expense. After starting brightly, Westmeath trailed by 0-4 to 0-6 before Andrew Mitchell drove a free to the net to give them the lead. Barry Kennedy, teenage sensation Killian Cosgrove and John Shaw followed up with points to put the visitors in the driving seat, but Down were soon back on level terms thanks to a Stephen Clarke goal. Parity, though, didn't last very long with Kennedy setting up Cosgrove for a second goal which helped the Lake County to a 2-11 to 1-9 lead at the break. Following the restart, Gareth Johnston scored a goal to reduce Westmeath's advantage to two points, but the visitors refused to panic and had regained a four-point lead before Barry Kennedy slammed home a third goal to put them firmly in the driving seat. Seamus Qualter's charges had extended their lead to 3-20 to 2-14 by the time Stephen Clarke scored his second goal in stoppage-time. But a late point from Mitchell ensured that Westmeath had the final say. The marvellous victory in Newry set the scene for a semi-final meeting with Kildare, who had topped the other group. Westmeath started positively and a ninth minute goal gave them a five-point cushion. Kildare fought back but a second goal gave the men in maroon a 2-10 to 0-7 interval lead. The Lilywhites tried to get back into contention in the early stages of the second half, but Westmeath kept them at arm's length and in the final quarter, they rattled in five goals to run out emphatic 7-14 to 1-12 winners. Despite their earlier victory over Down and the landslide win over Kildare, Westmeath entered the final against the Ardsmen as underdogs. It was a role that was to suit them, however, as they played the better hurling to secure a famous win. In what was a great advertisement for the new second tier competition, the sides were level on seven occasions and the first 20 minutes alone saw 17 scores and only one wide. The scoring became less frequent in the lead-up to half-time but late scores from Andrew Mitchell and man of the match Enda Loughlin saw Westmeath lead by 0-12 to 0-9 at the break. Down levelled matters with three points inside the first five minutes of the second half and they looked to be taking a grip on proceedings when Gareth Johnson shot to the net in the eighth minute. But Qualter's charges remained unruffled and Mitchell converted three frees to edge them back in front. Then, in the 54th minute, John Shaw put four points between the teams when he seized on a rebound and drove the ball to the net. Further scores from Brendan Murtagh and Mitchell looked to have made victory safe for Westmeath with eight minutes remaining, but despite having a goal controversially disallowed for a square ball infringement, Down stormed back with an unanswered 1-3 to level proceedings. A replay looked on the cards, but Westmeath weren't finished and injury-time points from Loughlin and 18-year-old full forward Killian Cosgrove copper-fastened their win. There were wonderful scenes afterwards as Raharney clubman Shaw climbed the steps of the Hogan Stand to collect the Christy Ring Cup. And not even protests by Down manager John Crossey about the validity of the result after an unfortunate time-keeping error by Limerick referee Denis Richardson at the end of the first half could spoil the Westmeath celebrations. As a reward for winning the trophy which honours the memory of the greatest hurler of all-time, the team had a well-earned break in New York during the month of October. When asked what kind of impact Westmeath can make in the Liam McCarthy Cup in 2006, manager Qualter chose to focus on the bigger picture. "We're not looking to make an impact with this panel. We're looking to make an impact in hurling in Westmeath. The aim is to make it popular to play hurling in Westmeath and to have players who want to play hurling for Westmeath." Tweet

Most Read Stories