Westmeath hit three goals in victory over Louth

Two goals just after half-time were decisive as Westmeath got their Leinster SFC campaign off to an encouraging start with a deserved 3-14 to 0-16 win at the Gaelic Grounds in Drogheda.

Louth did not make use of the wind in the opening half but manager Colin Kelly, in his first championship in charge, will be boosted going into the qualifiers by the way his new-look side performed after the restart.

Westmeath’s ability to get goals at crucial stages proved decisive as they atoned for last year’s defeat to the same opposition.

Both of these sides were relegated for the second year in a row this spring, so confidence was not high in either camp as they started their championship campaign.

Louth, who won the toss and opted to play with the wind, were in trouble when they trailed by 0-7 to 0-6 at the interval.

The constant rain did little to aid either side in a game devoid of championship intensity, but Westmeath always looked likely to leave Drogheda with victory and claim a quarter-final spot against Wexford.

Full-forward John Heslin was the dominant figure for Westmeath from the outset, working well as a target man in front of goal and also showing good accuracy from placed balls and he finished with 0-9 from nine kicks at the posts.

He kicked three frees into the wind and also landed one from play to give the Lake County the edge at the break.

Struggled

Louth struggled for scores but were given some hope in the opening quarter when Derek Maguire, Colm Judge and Ryan Burns found the target after Ray Connellan had got Westmeath off the mark after just 26 seconds.

Those scores helped Louth lead by 0-3 to 0-1 after nine minutes but they did not score again until seven minutes from the break.

Westmeath dominated in between, with Daragh Daly and Ger Egan on top in midfield and Connellan and Heslin a constant threat up front as they hit five unanswered points to lead by 0-6 to 0-3 before Tommy Durnin kicked a fine point for Louth from distance.

Heslin, one of six players — three from each side — to be booked in the opening half, responded with a free for Westmeath, before Ryan Burns and Declan Byrne gave Louth some hope with a couple of points before the break.

It took Westmeath just over a minute after the restart to find the net when Callum McCormack got away from Padraig Rath and blasted to the net.

Eoin O’Connor hit back with a point for Louth but then Heslin pointed and then combined with Ger Egan to set up Shane Dempsey for a goal which left it 2-8 to 0-7 after 41 minutes.

Louth rallied well despite playing against the wind with Eoin O’Connor, Conor Grimes and Ryan Burns getting good scores.

O’Connor’s second point got the gap down to a goal with 14 minutes left but the hopes of the home supporters were dashed when man-of-the-match Heslin set up Connellan for a goal after 58 minutes and send them into the provincial quarter-final clash with Wexford on June 14.

Westmeath: D Quinn; J Gilligan, K Maguire, K Daly; P Holloway, K Martin, J Dolan; D Daly, G Egan; J Egan, R Connellan (1-2), J Stapleton; C McCormack (1-1), J Heslin (0-9, 6f), S Dempsey (1-2).

Substitutes: B Foley for Stapleton (57), L Smith for Daly (58), F Boyle for Holloway (70).

Louth: N Gallagher; A Williams, P Reilly, P Rath; D Byrne (0-2), D O’Hanlon, A Reid; B Duffy, T Durnin (0-2); D Maguire (0-1), C Judge (0-1), J Stewart; R Burns (0-6, 4f), C Grimes (0-2), P Smith.

Substitutes: E O’Connor (0-2) for Smith (34), D Finnegan for Kavanagh (42), R Moore for Maguire (49), D Crilly for Stewart (60).

Referee: B Cassidy (Derry).