Duffy inspires fine Westmeath victory over Offaly

Westmeath 1-17, Offaly 0-14

An impressive Westmeath display ensured a winning start to the Leinster U20 Football Championship as they proved too strong for neighbours Offaly, at the Faithful Fields, Kilcormac on Wednesday evening.

Despite a promising start by the home side, it was Westmeath who gained control through an opportunist goal by wing forward Peter Murphy and they led comfortably at half-time, 1-11 to 0-4, before securing a precious first round victory. Murphy pounced to flick home a dropping ball in the 12th minute following a high delivery from Ronan Murray, and the visitors never looked like losing.

A strong Westmeath defence forced numerous turnovers and the industrious midfield partnership of Shane Ormsby and Tadhg Baker gave them a solid platform. These were the two biggest factors in the Lake County’s success and Kenny McKinley’s charges will be looking for more of the same when they tackle Meath on Wednesday in round two (Kinnegad, 7.30pm).

There was a considerable level of support at the Offaly centre of excellence for this midweek clash.

Offaly made much of the running in the early stages but all they could muster was a point from corner forward Kaelem Bryan, that despite dominating the possession stakes.

It was Westmeath who led by 1-4 to 0-1 at the end of the first quarter, following some quality scores from Finn Duffy (two frees, including a two-pointed effort) and Ryan Kelly, who showed full back John Colgan a clean pair of heels before finishing. Ormsby’s pass created the opportunity.

Bryan pulled one back for the home side with a converted free, but Westmeath surged ahead courtesy of five unanswered points in an impressive period of dominance. Billy Moffatt powered forward from centre back to fire over from a decent goal opportunity, while Duffy was on target again in the 20th minute. Westmeath had a decent goal chance three minutes later but Shane Corcoran’s powerful drive came off the upright and wide.

The visitors remained in control: Jack Duncan added a point with the left boot and Duffy kicked a quality score when Corcoran engineered an opening. Duncan set up midfielder Shane Ormsby for Westmeath’s ninth point of the half.

Offaly hit back with a two-pointer from a Conor Melia free off the turf, but Duffy replied with his second two-pointer of the half to give Westmeath a 10-point lead at the break.

Reasserting control

Offaly enjoyed a more productive second half and had 10 points to show for their efforts, but Westmeath showed good composure and game management at vital stages.

The home side got the first two scores after the restart - a free from Cillian Foran who then broke clear along the endline to fist over. Crucially, Dara Bates missed a free off the ground and Westmeath managed to reassert control when Tadhg Baker set up Murray for a wonderful point in the 36th minute.

Kelly followed with another for the visiting side and then Duffy showed his class to fire over and make it 1-14 to 0-6.

Bryan’s two-pointer (free) ensured the big home support remained vocal and he followed up with a point from a free when Steven Doran was impeded. Westmeath kept the scoreboard ticking over through Duffy and at the three quarter stage, they led by 1-15 to 0-9.

Doran and Bryan (free) notched two unanswered scores for Offaly at this stage and they were showing some promising signs that they might produce a late rally.

Melia had a shot for a two-pointer when his side trailed by seven points (1-15 to 0-11) in the 55th minute and that could have made for an interesting finish had it been on target.

Corcoran steadied Westmeath nerves with a terrific point in the 58th minute and when Niall Furlong shot over for the home side, Kelly converted a free, keeping Westmeath firmly in control. Offaly were forced to wait until the third minute of added time for substitute Cian Bracken to kick a superb two-pointer, following a short 45’ from Melia, and ultimately they paid a heavy price for their first half paucity.

For Westmeath it was a very satisfying evening’s work and while it is only a first round victory, it was a much-needed boost following a series of negative results at senior level in the league.

Scorers - Offaly: K Bryan 0-6 (3f; 1 2pt f), C Melia 0-2 (2pt f), C Foran 0-2 (1f), C Bracken 0-2 (2pt), S Doran and N Furlong 0-1 each.

Westmeath: F Duffy 0-9 (2 2pt f; 1f), P Murphy 1-0, R Murray 0-2, R Kelly 0-2 (1f), B Moffatt, J Duncan, S Ormsby and S Corcoran 0-1 each.

Offaly - Conor Melia; Jake Maher, John Colgan, Christian McKeon; Harry Goulding, David O’Rourke, Darragh Bryant; Brian Carroll, Eoin Dunne; Dara Bates, Niall Furlong, Steven Doran; Cillian Foran, Conor Fox, Kaelem Bryan. Subs: Luke Kelly for Fox (20), Jack Maher for Bryant (28), Cian Bracken for Foran (44), Davin Keegan for Carroll (48), Billy Quinn for Bryan (56).

Westmeath - Luke Nicholson; Sean Dillon, Seanaí Bracken, Aodhan Curran; Kealan Connell, Billy Moffatt, Adam Keane; Shane Ormsby, Tadhg Baker; Ryan Kelly, Finn Duffy, Peter Murphy; Shane Corcoran, Ronan Murray, Jack Duncan. Subs: Matthew Thornton for K Connell; Taylor Slevin for Moffatt (51), Tiarnan O’Donovan for Duncan (56), Gareth Mullaniff for Murphy (57), Tom Bourke for Murray (60).

Referee - Patrick Coyle (Meath).