Kildare let eight point lead slip in final quarter
Kildare's Alex Beirne with Luke Loughlin and Tadhg Baker of Westmeath Photo: ©INPHO/Tom O'Hanlon
Kildare coughed up an eight-point second-half lead as Westmeath stormed back to deservedly clinch their fifth O’Byrne Cup thanks to Luke Loughlin’s last-gasp two-pointer at Cedral St Conleth’s Park.
It’s the middle of January and “only” the O’Byrne Cup, so context is everything, particularly with Brian Flanagan’s walking wounded in double figures, but with a daunting trip to Omagh coming next Saturday to open their Division 2 campaign, there were plenty of “work-ons” for the management team in the coming week.
In the first-half Flanagan’s young side had something of a shocker in front of the posts, three quick-fire two-pointers in the opening ten minutes from Kevin Feely, Ben Loakman and Brian McLoughlin, painting an inaccurate picture of a first half that saw them shoot only five scores from fourteen attempts, not to mention a twenty minute scoreless spell after the third two-pointer before McLoughlin and Eoin Cully raised white flags before half-time.
That they managed to reach half-time with their four-point advantage (0-8 to 0-4) owed much to a full-strength Westmeath side’s own difficulties in front of the posts, the Lake County shooting just four scores from their own fourteen efforts.
After the break, helped by Loughlin’s first two-pointer, Westmeath got back to within two points at 10-8 but when young substitute Liam Kelly finished to the net after a goalmouth scramble and Alex Beirne nailed a two-pointer from play, Flanagan’s side looked to be in command with 42 minutes on the clock and an eight point lead in their pocket.
What happened from there to the end won’t exactly haunt the management set-up (mid-January, O’Byrne Cup remember) but it certainly should inform their last-minute homework in the run up to next weekend.
Westmeath used their bench quicker and to a greater extent than Kildare and that seemed to freshen them up, but more importantly the home side couldn’t find a way to stifle the growing influence of Loughlin and, particularly, wing back Ronan Wallace.
It wasn’t as if Westmeath had threats coming from all angles (only four of their number scored all game), but that classy duo were given far too much space, particularly wing-back Wallace.
The pair weighed in with two two-pointers in the 43rd and 45th minutes and after Brian McLoughlin scored a fine point in reply, the Kildare defence allowed Wallace through far too easily to slot their goal past Cian Burke, who had a mixed evening in goals, looking nervous at times under the high ball and shanking a couple of second-half kickouts.
That goal narrowed the gap to two points and although Beirne floated a ’45 over the bar, Wallace was given the space once more to raise another orange flag.
Kildare still seemed to be set to crawl over the line. Cully, well-marked by Boidu Sayeh for most of the game, won a free which Beirne converted but Kildare coughed up possession in the 58th minute (a recurring theme) and Wallace once more registered a two-pointer to level things at 1-16 apiece, bringing his own impressive tally to 1-7.
Penalties beckoned but cometh the hour…in the third and final minute of the allotted three of injury time, Kildare couldn’t get close enough to Loughlin and his raised fist told you as soon as it left his boot that the orange flag was about to be raised for the sixth time by the midlanders in the second half.
On Burke’s kickout, referee Kevin Williamson blew up to signal Westmeath’s first triumph in the pre-season competition since 2019, leaving Kildare with plenty to think about over the next eight days.
Cian Burke; Harry O’Neill, Pádraic Spillane, Ryan Burke; James Harris, Eoin Lawlor, Brian Byrne; Kevin Feely 0-2 (tp), Brendan Gibbons; Brian McLoughlin 0-4 (1tp), Alex Beirne 0-5 (1tp,1f,1’45), Callum Bolton 0-1; Sam Doran, Ben Loakman 0-3 (1tp), Eoin Cully 0-1. Subs: Liam Kelly 1-0 for Doran HT, Michael Spillane for Lawlor 45, Darragh Swords for P Spillane 52, Daragh Mangan for Gibbons 56.
Jack Connaughton; Tadhg Baker, Charlie Drumm, Boidu Sayeh; Ronan Wallace 1-7 (3tps), Daniel Scahill, Jonathan Lynam; Harry Niall, Ray Connellan; Senan Baker 0-1, Brian Guerin, Brandon Kelly; Danny McCartan 0-2, Luke Loughlin 0-8 (3 tps,1’45), Matthew Whittaker. Subs: Kevin O’Sullivan for Niall and Brian Cooney for Guerin (both h-t), Tom Molloy for McCartan, TJ Cox for S Baker and Robbie Forde for Kelly (all 42), Jack Duncan for Lynam 51.
Kevin Williamson (Offaly).
