Just as they had done 12 months previously, Laois inflicted a comprehensive defeat on Westmeath last March to send them crashing out of the Leinster under 21 football championship at the semi-final stage. History repeated itself at Cusack Park on March 18 last when Laois comfortably accounted for a dreadfully disappointing Westmeath team to qualify for the Leinster under 21 football final for a second successive year. With two-thirds of the team that lost the corresponding fixture in 2006 to the O'Moore County on view, Westmeath had high hopes of reversing that result, but a dismal performance saw Richie O'Donoghue's charges slump to a 0-7 to 1-10 loss. The home side paraded six senior panelists, but with the exception of team captain Francis Boyle and youthful attacker John Connellan, they struggled to make an impression against a well-drilled Laois outfit. Westmeath's preparations were not helped by the apparent conflict which arose between the under 21 and senior managements over the senior players involved or by the fact that they didn't enter the pre-championship Hastings Cup tournament. But even so, Lake County supporters had expected a lot better from a grade that has given them little to cheer about since 1999 and 2000 when two Leinster titles and one All-Ireland were annexed. Such were Westmeath's shortcomings against Laois that some supporters had expressed the hope that the game wouldn't resume after half-time due to a heavy snow shower! But after a 20-minute break, the conditions improved sufficiently for the second half to go ahead and for Laois to pull away for an easy win. For the third year in-a-row, Westmeath were drawn away to Wexford in the opening round. In 2005 and 2006, the Lake County had chalked up comfortable wins but they were forced to work a lot harder for their victory on this occasion, only winning by three points, 1-10 to 1-7. Forced to line out without John Connellan, who picked up a hamstring injury while on duty for the county seniors against Dublin, the visitors trailed by four points early on and played the last 10 minutes with 14 men, but still had enough in reserve to see off a wasteful Wexford side. Despite struggling at midfield where David Duffy was clearly hampered by a calf muscle injury, Westmeath funneled enough possession through to the attack to register a winning score. David Glennon didn't score from play, but his contribution of 1-5 went a long way to deciding the outcome. The home side made a dream start when a Peter Hughes free was fisted to the net by Paddy Byrne in the third minute. Ciaran Lyng immediately tagged on a point to leave the shell-shocked visitors in a spot of bother. Glennon eventually opened the Lake County's account in the eighth minute and a second point from Michael Boyle helped them to settle further. Then, in the 16th minute, Luke Folan was brought down for a penalty and Tyrrellspass clubman Glennon made no mistake from the spot-kick to give the visitors the lead for the first time. Another foul on David Duffy gave Glennon the chance to extend Westmeath's lead and when Conradh Reilly added another point from play in the 24th minute, Richie O'Donoghue's team were 1-4 to 1-1 to the good. However, the Slaneysiders finished the half with unanswered scores from senior star PJ Banville, Lyng and Shane Roche to regain parity at half-time. Westmeath restored their three-point advantage after the restart with three quick points from Andy Devine, Luke Folan and Glennon (free). Banville reduced the gap to two before he almost gave Wexford the lead when his left-footed effort came back off the post and into the arms of the grateful David Bryan. David Glennon continued to punish Wexford discrepancies at the other end, adding two further points to the Westmeath tally. The visitors looked comfortable at this stage, but the dismissal of Francis Boyle for a second yellow card offence left them under pressure for the last 10 minutes. A pair of Banville frees made it a two-point game once again and Westmeath had to survive some anxious moments before Folan landed the insurance point in injury-time. The Lake County had a much easier time of it against a hapless Kilkenny in the next round, cruising to a 5-18 to 0-2 win in a woefully one-sided affair at the O'Loughlin Gaels grounds. Conditions were dreadful for a game which was of little benefit to either side, and one has to question Kilkenny's continued participation in the championship after such an inept showing. The writing was on the wall for the home side after just three minutes when Luke Folan finished to net. Substitute William Coyne swooped for a second goal four minutes before half-time, by which time Westmeath were already out of sight. David Glennon kicked five frees and one from play, while Conradh Reilly also notched a couple of minors. A third goal from midfielder Brendan Nannery left the visitors sitting pretty on a 3-10 to 0-0 lead at the break. There was no respite for the outclassed Cats after the restart as points from Nannery, Glennon and Robert English were followed by a fourth goal from Glennon in the 43rd minute. Substitute Sean Whelan pounced for a fifth major, and Kilkenny had to wait until the 50th minute to open their account through Peter Hanrahan. Their second point came in stoppage time courtesy of Padraig Whelan. The Laois game was always going to provide the litmus test for Westmeath, but sadly they failed to rise to the challenge. On a bitterly cold day when snow and sleet showers were commonplace, Westmeath could never come to terms with the dominance exerted by the majestic Brendan Quigley at midfield. The attack, too, was found badly wanting with the Laois goal never coming under any threat. Brendan Nannery gave the home side an early lead but Laois, who had escaped with a narrow one-point victory over Louth in the previous round, were quickly back on level terms through Donie Brennan. Connellan restored Westmeath's lead with a fine score, but this was soon cancelled out by the first of three points from Quigley. As the conditions deteriorated, the scores dried up and frozen fans had to wait until the 26th minute for Luke Folan to register the next score. Once again, the visitors responded immediately with a Stephen O'Leary effort and they grabbed a 1-3 to 0-3 lead before the break when Shane O'Neill capitalized on a handling error by David Duffy to beat David Bryan with a first-time effort. A heavy snow shower threatened the continuation of the match, but when the action eventually resumed it was all Laois as the home side's disappointing challenge petered out. An early David Glennon free and another excellent point by Connellan were Westmeath's only scores during a 30-minute period which saw Laois hit the target seven times. The sending off of wing back Micheal Curley on a second yellow card with nine minutes remaining ended any chance of a Westmeath revival, and two late Connellan points (one free) were mere consolation scores. The Westmeath team which lost to Laois in the Leinster under 21 football semi-final was: David Bryan; Jason Lynch, Francis Boyle (captain), Kieran Gavin; Greg Crowley, Andrew Whitney, Micheal Curley; David Duffy, Brendan Nannery; Gavin Hoey, Conradh Reilly, Luke Folan; John Connellan, Robert English, David Glennon. Subs used: Brian Smyth, Ronan Foley and Conor Jordan. Tweet

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