Just when supporters had accepted that the Westmeath senior footballers would be making a swift return to Division 2 of the National League, they pulled off their own version of 'The Great Escape' to retain their top flight status. Here, we review a largely disappointing campaign which thankfully had a happy ending. While Westmeath's form since Paidi O Sé took over the managerial reins amid a blaze of publicity last October has been erratic, the Kerry legend has already achieved one of his main objectives for 2004 by consolidating the county's position in Division 1 of the National League. O Sé would be the first to admit that Westmeath were lucky to retain their top flight status, but luck is not something that has been in plentiful supply until now. Luck played a big part in Westmeath's O'Byrne Cup final defeat to Meath and was also conspicuous by its absence in the National League games against Cork, Longford and Fermanagh. Westmeath garnered just two points from those three games when really they should have amassed the full quota of six. These slip-ups, coupled with bitterly disappointing performances against Dublin, Kerry and Tyrone, slowly eroded the confidence of previously expectant fans. Such was the doom and gloom that set in after the defeat to Dublin in particular that few gave Westmeath any chance of escaping the drop to Division 2. However, just when supporters had resigned themselves to not so glamorous fixtures against the likes of Leitrim, London and Waterford next season, the seemingly impossible happened. Fermanagh's surprise victory over Longford in the penultimate round at Pearse Park left the door ajar for Paidi O Sé's charges, and they duly took advantage with an impressive victory over Mayo in their final game. 'The Great Escape' was also made possible by Cork beating Fermanagh the previous night and Longford losing to Dublin at the same time at Parnell Park. Having retained their Division 1 status, the mood has once again changed and supporters are now looking forward to the Leinster championship opener against Offaly with a degree of confidence. Certainly, were they to produce the direct brand of football that was evident against Mayo, Westmeath would stand an excellent chance of not only beating Offaly, but progressing to the latter stages of the Leinster championship. But that's for another day. We begin our review in the wake of Westmeath's 2003 championship demise at the hands of Monaghan. Within days of that defeat, Luke Dempsey publicly announced his desire to remain on as senior manager for a fourth year. However, after being told by the county board that he would need to be re-interviewed for the position, Dempsey reluctantly tendered his resignation and so ended the reign of the county's most successful football manager. There was much speculation about who would succeed Dempsey and for a while, Dessie Dolan Snr looked to be the frontrunner. But in a dramatic development, Paidi O Sé was unveiled as Westmeath's new manager - just days after an unamiable parting with Kerry. O Sé's appointment made headline news and put Westmeath football in the spotlight like never before. At a hastily arranged press conference in the Greville Arms Hotel, the Ventry publican revealed that he would be committing himself to Westmeath for two years and would be endeavouring to win a Leinster championship in that period. After a high-profile appearance on the ill-fated 'Dunphy Show', O Sé got his first glimpse of the task ahead in early November when Westmeath were decisively beaten by Dublin in a challenge match which marked the 25th anniversary of the St. Jude's club in Templeogue. A few weeks later, preparations for the new season began in earnest when O Sé took his new charges to Sunderland AFC where Westmeath were kindly given access to the club's state-of-the-art training facilities by former Republic of Ireland soccer manager Mick McCarthy. During December, Westmeath played a number of challenge matches which took them up to the start of the O'Byrne Cup. The media spotlight remained firmly focused on Westmeath and there was even a rumour that O Sé and his selectors Paddy Collins, Jack Cooney and Tomas O Flaherta had arranged a training session for Ballinagore on Christmas morning. Needless to say, this was without foundation. The Paidi O Sé era officially began on January 4 with a 1-16 to 1-12 victory over Louth in the opening round of the O'Byrne Cup at Cusack Park. O Sé's first competitive game in charge of the Lake County looked destined to end in failure until Joe Fallon came off the bench to score an equalizing free in the eighth minute of stoppage-time. The home side finally got to grips with their opponents in extra-time and never looked back after James Conroy scored their only goal. Seven days later, Westmeath turned in a strong second half display to overwhelm a Kildare team bound for Spain by 1-12 to 1-4. Westmeath led by just two points at the interval, 0-6 to 1-1, but took complete control after wing back Derek Heavin came forward to score a cracking goal 10 minutes into the second half. Kildare's less illustrious neighbours Carlow provided Westmeath with a more searching examination in the semi-final. The home side struggled for long periods in the first half and Carlow were not flattered by their 1-5 to 0-5 interval lead. The Barrowsiders remained in front until late in the second half when a Westmeath scoring blitz - which yielded points from Martin Flanagan, David O'Shaughnessy, Joe Fallon and newcomer Denis Glennon - saw them emerge as 0-16 to 2-8 winners. Remarkably, Westmeath were handed home advantage for the fourth successive weekend for the final against old rivals Meath on January 25. While attendances for the earlier rounds had been in the region of 4,000 and 5,000, the visit of the Royals to Mullingar saw the crowd swell to 15,000, breaking all previous attendance records for the redeveloped Cusack Park and the O'Byrne Cup. Much to the disappointment of the huge home support, though, the outcome had a familiar ring to it with Meath coming out on top by the narrowest of margins, 2-6 to 0-11. Westmeath had numerous chances to at least force extra-time, but a blatant lack of composure in the final straight cost them dearly. Most of the damage was inflicted in the first half when goals from Shane McKeigue and Niall Kelly helped the visitors to a 2-2 to 0-5 lead at the interval. On the resumption, Westmeath battled back to restore parity with three minutes of normal time remaining. But two minutes later, Joe Sheridan scored what proved to be the winning point for Meath. There followed nine minutes of injury-time (necessitated due to an injury to Denis Glennon), during which Westmeath poured forward in unrelenting waves. However, the home side were unable to manage an equalizer despite glorious chances falling to Fergal Murray (twice), Martin Flanagan and David O'Shaughnessy. While the O'Byrne Cup had a hollow end, Westmeath approached the National League Division 1A campaign in a confident frame of mind. Six days after the defeat to Meath, Westmeath made the long journey to Pairc Ui Rinn to face Billy Morgan's Cork in a floodlit fixture which was televised live on TG4. Cork started brightly and had opened up a four-point lead before Westmeath decided to introduce Martin Flanagan in the 22nd minute. The Tyrrellspass clubman made an instant impact and proceeded to pop over two points to leave Cork leading by only 0-5 to 0-3 at the interval - this after Cork missed two excellent goalscoring opportunities. The Rebels extended their lead on the restart, but they were rocked back on their heels by goals from substitutes James Conroy and Gary Dolan. The visitors continued to hold a three-point advantage until deep into injury-time when a hopeful delivery by Graham Canty into their goalmouth was punched to the net by another substitute Padraig Griffin. This left the final score reading 1-8 to 2-5 and Westmeath having to settle for a share of the spoils. "You're always learning in this game, but I've known for a long time to my cost that games are never over until the final whistle," said Paidi O Sé afterwards. Midland rivals Longford provided the next test for Westmeath in front of 9,039 fans at Cusack Park. Having recorded a shock victory over Kerry in the opening round, Longford were brimming with confidence and it showed as they came from behind to inflict a 2-12 to 1-13 defeat on Paidi O Sé's charges. With Rory O'Connell and David O'Shaughnessy dominant at midfield, Westmeath took a 1-7 to 0-6 lead into the break, with Martin Flanagan accounting for the home side's goal from the penalty spot. But the pattern of the game changed dramatically shortly after the restart when a shocking Gary Dolan miss was followed by a clinical finish by Paul Barden at the opposite end. Westmeath then suffered another setback when Rory O'Connell was sent off for a high tackle on Barden and from that point onwards, Longford were the ones in the driving seat. A second goal from David Barden in the 62nd minute effectively broke Westmeath's resistance and despite having two players sent off in the closing stages, the visitors went on to seal a famous victory courtesy of late points from David Hannify, Padraig Davis and David Barden. The defeat to Denis Connerton's team not only signalled the end of Paidi O Sé's honeymoon period in Westmeath, but also marked the beginning of a miserable run for the Lake County. A struggling Fermanagh team, stripped of the talented Gallagher cousins and their Enniskillen Gaels contingent, looked to have been mastered when Westmeath opened up a five-point lead early in the second half. But just as they had done in the previous games against Cork and Longford, Westmeath failed to kill off the opposition and Fermanagh came back to snatch a 1-9 to 0-12 draw. At half-time, the teams were level at 0-6 each, but within 12 minutes of the restart, the visiting Westmeath side had established a 0-11 to 0-6 lead thanks to points from Dessie Dolan and Alan Mangan. But Fermanagh refused to throw in the towel and after scoring three unanswered points, full forward Stephen Maguire plundered the only goal to put them in front with 10 minutes remaining. From there to the finish, Westmeath piled forward in numbers and were rewarded with an equalizing free from Fergal Wilson. However, the over-riding feeling among supporters afterwards was that it had been a point lost rather than gained. A major talking point after the Fermanagh game was the non-appearance of Martin Flanagan, who had been selected to play at midfield in the absence of the suspended Rory O'Connell. Rumours were rife that he had been axed from the panel after a training ground bust-up with Paidi O Sé, but this was vehemently denied by the management who insisted that an ankle injury had prevented him from making the trip to Enniskillen. It later emerged that the same injury would rule Flanagan out of action for the remainder of the season. A hugely disappointing 0-10 to 0-15 defeat to Dublin at Cusack Park on March 7 left Westmeath facing up to the prospect of being relegated for the second time in three years. The teams were level three times in the opening 10 minutes, but an injury to full back Donal O'Donoghue left gaping holes in the Westmeath defence and they trailed by 0-6 to 0-8 at half-time. To compound matters for the home side, they allowed a great opportunity to slip just before the break when Denis Glennon's tame penalty attempt was easily saved by Dublin 'keeper Stephen Cluxton. Westmeath's tale of woe continued into the second half when Cluxton denied Alan Mangan a goal with another splendid save. Dublin upped the ante considerably after that let-off and rifled over four points in-a-row to put daylight between the sides at 0-12 to 0-7 after 45 minutes. Jason Sherlock and Senan Connell put six points between the teams before Cluxton was again called into action, this time denying Glennon. Two late points by Des Dolan and substitute Joe Fallon only served to put a more respectable look on the scoreboard, but in truth Westmeath were a well-beaten side at the final whistle. By the time Paidi O Sé's former Kerry charges came to town, apathy had set in among supporters with only 3,500 turning out for a game which, in different circumstances, would have drawn a massive crowd. Westmeath started promisingly and as early as the first minute, they were denied a goal by the quick reactions of Kerry goalkeeper Diarmuid Murphy. The home side continued to apply most of the pressure until disaster struck just before the interval when two goals in quick succession by Eoin Brosnan and Mike Frank Russell (penalty) gave the Kingdom a somewhat flattering 2-6 to 0-6 interval lead. In the second half, Kerry comfortably maintained their six-point advantage, ending up as 2-10 to 0-10 winners. There was a resignation about the way Westmeath accepted defeat and Paidi O Sé as good as conceded that they would be relegated in his post-match interview. Westmeath's problems worsened when they succumbed to All-Ireland champions Tyrone by 0-6 to 2-11 on a day to forget at Omagh. Deploying Dessie Dolan as a third midfielder, Westmeath did their best to contain the wind-assisted home side in the first half, but a 36th minute goal from Brian Dooher gave Tyrone a 1-6 to 0-0 half-time lead and effectively ended the game as a contest. Utterly dominant, the Red Hands stretched their advantage to 2-7 to 0-0 early in the second half and it wasn't until the 45th minute that Westmeath opened their scoring account from a Dessie Dolan free. The visitors finished strongly, but Tyrone's job had been completed long before then. Things could only get better for Westmeath after Omagh and they did - a lot better, in fact. With Fermanagh beating Longford and Westmeath having a superior scoring difference to both teams, a lifeline presented itself. And Westmeath grabbed it with both hands. An early goal was needed to settle nerves against Mayo at Cusack Park and a brilliant ball by Dessie Dolan in the third minute found Denis Glennon and the Tyrrellspass youngster finished to the net to give the midlanders a lead they never relinquished. Mayo rallied and goals from Austin O'Malley and Alan Costelloe threatened to help them move in front as the game approached half-time, but it was in this period that the game was won by Westmeath. Gary Dolan converted a penalty in the 31st minute to leave his team 2-8 to 2-3 up and three more points, including a beauty from Alan Mangan, helped them to a 2-11 to 2-4 lead at the break. With the wind behind them in the second half, Mayo again rallied and had the margin down to four points by the 45th minute. But Westmeath refused to buckle and in a devastating scoring burst, Joe Fallon, Derek Heavin and Dessie Dolan reeled off points as the home side powered to an impressive 2-16 to 2-10 victory. Afterwards, Paidi O Sé was understandably delighted with the display which not only yielded Westmeath's first win of the campaign but also kept them in the top flight. "This was an important victory, we can now look forward and prepare for the championship and we can say that we retained our Division 1 status," he beamed. Next stop - Offaly in Croke Park on May 23. Tweet

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