Bright start for Westmeath in Leinster Colleges championship

The combined Westmeath team made an encouraging start to their Leinster junior hurling championship campaign at sunny Cusack Park on Monday afternoon (September 22nd) with a deserved win over their North Offaly counterparts in an entertaining encounter.Despite being short the services of their very promising forward, Aonghus Clarke, due to injury, the lads in maroon and white were the better team throughout and a brace of goals by Anthony Price early in the first half put them in a commanding position which they never looked likely to relinquish. A third goal, this time from the stick of Glen Flynn, well and truly wrapped up the contest in the seventh minute of the second half and an unanswered four-point scoring burst by the tricoloured brigade at the midpoint of the second moiety only served to put a better complexion on the scoreboard.The respective number 11s, Anthony Price (Westmeath) and Ciaran Buckley (Offaly) exchanged well-taken points in the opening exchanges, before the visitors took the lead for the only time in the match with a Paddy Murphy point in the fourth minute.It wasn"t long before the winners regained the lead, Anthony Price batting the sliotar home from close range, following Eamon Mulry"s cross. In the ninth minute, Price raised his second green flag, firing low to the net off an Offaly defender, after a surging run from Glen Flynn.The latter player then chipped in with a great point of his own from around 50 metres, with Eamon Mulry increasing the Lake County"s lead with a terrific point from an acute angle. Glen Flynn added an acrobatic point in the 22nd minute and Eamon Mulry rounded off first half scoring from a 30-metre free. In the closing minutes of the half, a somewhat complacent Westmeath side missed a few scoreable chances, but they were still well in command at the interval, leading by 2-5 to 0-2.Within 25 seconds of the re-start, Westmeath stretched their lead, a fine move involving David Gavin and Glen Flynn ending with Joey Boyle pointing neatly. Offaly replied with a terrific point from Paddy Murphy but the game effectively ended as a contest when fine approach work by substitute Neal Kirby set up Glen Flynn who duly buried the ball past D.J. Rosney for the winners" third goal.Indeed, within minutes, the maroon and whites came perilously close to a fourth when Rosney just about kept Flynn"s close-range effort from crossing the line. In the tenth minute, a poor puck out by the Offaly netminder went straight to Neal Kirby who fired the ball straight and true over the crossbar.The Faithful County then staged a mini-revival and four points without reply, between the 12th and 18th minutes, reduced the deficit to three goals. Thomas Geraghty (2), Paddy Murphy and Con Mahon all found the range for the losers, as a degree of uncertainty crept into the Westmeath defence. However, the home team wrapped up their victory with a 35-metre point from David Gavin and a superb long-range effort from Anthony Price (by now returned after an earlier injury), following Gavin"s quickly-taken lineball. In the closing exchanges, both sides had half-chances of goals, with Offaly"s Donal Guinan not getting sufficient power into his ground stroke to unduly trouble Niall Kelly, before Anthony Price whipped the ball just wide at the other end.Westmeath now face Kilkenny CBS in their next assignment on Wednesday October 1st at a Mullingar venue. On Monday, they were well served by defenders Thomas Doyle, Cathal Scally and Paddy Laide, while David Gavin caught the eye at midfield.Anthony Price was the star of the forward division, ably assisted by Glen Flynn and substitute Neal Kirby.For a disappointing Offaly side, only goalkeeper D.J. Rosney, centre half back Kevin Coyne, midfielder Thomas Geraghty and corner forward Paddy Murphy impressed throughout.Westmeath: Niall Kelly; James Shaughnessy, Thomas Doyle, Daniel Kelleher; Sean Deegan, Cathal Scally, Paddy Laide; David Fennell, David Gavin (0-1); Niall O"Brien, Anthony Price (2-2), Glen Flynn (1-2); Joey Boyle (0-1), David Higgins, Eamon Mulry (0-2, 0-1 from a free). Subs: Neal Kirby (0-1) (for Price, inj, 15 mins), Anthony Price (for Higgins, 40 mins), Cian O"Neill (for Flynn, 49 mins), Niall Leonard (for Mulry, 56 mins).North Offaly: D.J. Rosney; Alan Foster, Derek Loonam, Brian Gorman; James Cantwell, Kevin Coyne, Stephen O"Brien; Thomas Geraghty (0-2), Martin Hackett; Con Mahon (0-1), Ciaran Buckley (0-1), Gareth Mann; Paddy Murphy (0-3), Donal Guinan, David Condron. Subs: Leon Fox (for Condron, 34 mins), Joe Fahy (for Mann, 48 mins), Leon Mullen (for Gorman, 58 mins), David Maloney (for Murphy, 58 mins), Enda Grogan (for Cantwell, 60 mins).Referee: Terry O"Dowd.