Massacre by Dublin

All good things come to an end and a truly glorious decade and a half for Westmeath football came to an ignominious end in Croke Park last Sunday afternoon as a fit, focused and merciless Dublin side utterly demolished a seemingly unfit, unfocused and lethargic Lake County outfit in what was a 70-minute nightmare for all who care about Gaelic games in this county.The dreamers among us, who were prepared to write off an abysmal National League campaign which culminated in a 27-point defeat to the metropolitans as being irrelevant to last Sunday"s game, were awoken with a bang by 6pm last Sunday. Another 27-point annihilation was unbearable to witness and is almost unbearable to write about. Three points down after one minute and 40 seconds. Eight points down after ten minutes. A whopping 13 points down at half-time. Westmeath winning only 11 out of 38 kick-outs, Dublin winning 21 out of their 23. These are real live statistics from a horror show which will take some time to be erased from the memory (if, sadly, not from the record books).The match programme alluded to Dublin"s 6-11 to 0-1 win over Westmeath in Clonturk Park in 1890. That was in the 19th century and, who knows, may therefore even be inaccurate. The participants with their handlebar moustaches could well have worked the morning of the game. This is the 21st century and an entourage of (undoubtedly well-qualified and well-intentioned) physios, doctors, statisticians, water-carriers, ball-carriers and miscellaneous clipboard-carriers help the manager Tomás Ó Flatharta (who has given wonderful service to the county) prepare for games at this level. Quite why a side which lost by a mere two points to the same opponents 364 days previously could capitulate is beyond comprehension. But capitulate they did in front of 51,458 spectators, the vast majority of whom wore Arnotts jerseys and tops and duly relished this public execution of the Delaney Cup winners of 2004. Tens of thousands of television viewers around the country also tuned in for the morbid execution and may well feel entitled to question the persistence of the TV licence inspectors who hound them for the necessary paperwork when next they call.But let us be fair. The minor All-Ireland win of 1995, the under-21 win in 1999 and the Leinster senior win five years later, were days we will bring to our graves with us. However, even the best-oiled machine ultimately collapses and dies and last Sunday was a death. The feeling in the hearts and minds of genuine maroon and white-clad fans was akin to being in the old dilapidated City Morgue, not the wonderful edifice that is now Croke Park, after a shattering blow to the solar plexus of Westmeath football. A very sincere thanks for the memories lads and we all try to override last Sunday"s horror movie with visions from 17th September 1995, 15th May 1999, 24th July 2004 and a plethora of other less auspicious, but equally fulfilling, dates. It won"t be easy but we will give it our best shot. And thanks again. Very sincerely. Very, very sincerely.And now for the account of the execution and, as is customary in an established newspaper, scant details of the pain of the deceased will be portrayed. Dublin raced into a three-point lead with clinically-taken scores from Bernard Brogan (ten seconds), Conal Keaney (50 seconds) and Bernard Brogan again (100 seconds). Westmeath briefly woke up but Martin Flanagan (as fine a natural talent as this proud county has produced in any of the three centuries of the GAA"s existence) shot harmlessly wide. Another barrage of beautifully-constructed points ensued at the other end. Two came from the boot of Jason Sherlock (like Flanagan, a minor back in 1994, but still in flying form), a Bernard Brogan 25-metre free and another brace from the latter"s brother Alan. Dublin led by 0-8 to 0-0 and the game was all but over. A mere ten minutes had elapsed.Westmeath then got on the scoreboard with John Connellan (who totally justified his selection) firing over, following an error by Denis Bastick. A wonderful left-footed free by Conal Keaney restored the Dubs" eight-point advantage and Bernard Brogan soon converted a routine free with his right foot. His opposite number, Denis Glennon replicated this feat and Conor Lynam (who took up from where he left off in Tullamore with another terrific display) chipped in with his opening score in the 24th minute, demonstrating his great ability to sell a "dummy" in the process. Enter a rampant Dublin again straight from the kick-out, Conal Keaney dissecting the posts. Paul Flynn popped up with a quick-fire point and Jason Sherlock (who may even have been fouled for what would have been a penalty) had time to toe-poke the ball back to the inrushing Alan Brogan who first-timed the ball over the Westmeath crossbar.A Dublin goal looked inevitable and it duly arrived from the ensuing kick-out. John Smyth, who was as ever working tirelessly, took Gary Conaughton"s low ball but his attempted pass to John Keane was intercepted and Bernard Brogan fired an unstoppable shot past Connaughton from 20 metres. Another successful Bernard Brogan free followed, before Conor Lynam availed of great work by the lion-hearted Michael Ennis to wrap up the first-half scoring. This made for a depressing scoreboard from a Westmeath perspective at the break, with Dublin ahead by 1-14 to 0-4. Game, set and match to the Dubs but the winners were due to return to Centre Court for a further exhibition.Shell-shocked Lake County fans gathered in huddles during the interval, speculating as to whether Dublin would ease off on the resumption of play. They soon got their answer with the Brogan brothers (and what very talented footballers they are) extending the winners" lead with a point apiece in the opening two minutes, Bernard from a free and Alan from open play. The unrelenting waves of attack continued and Kieran Gavin did extremely well to claw away Alan Brogan"s slapped effort for a goal, as Gary Connaughton advanced off his line, at the expense of an unconverted "45". Denis Glennon (pretty much subdued all though) tapped over a free and John Connellan followed up with a fine left-footed point from play, which was cancelled out by Diarmuid Connolly"s only point of the contest. Gary Connaughton remained admirably hyped up and the All-Star netminder did brilliantly to prevent Bernard Brogan from netting, with the losers" rearguard at sixes and sevens.The latter player was on fire but he fisted the ball wide in the tenth minute. However, he soon compensated with a delightfully-curled point. Denis Glennon pointed a 35-metre free before Barry Cahill sauntered forward for one of his trademark points. Jason Sherlock kicked another point and more goals looked on the cards. However, Gary Connaughton did very well to keep out Conal Keaney"s 15th-minute penalty, awarded after he had been fouled inside the parallelogram. Less than two minutes later, the overworked Connaughton clashed with Derek Heavin as Conal Keaney"s lineball swung goalwards. Bernard Brogan accepted the gift and buried the breaking ball in to the unguarded net. John Connellan soon oozed class with a sublime point.It was now Dublin 2-20 Westmeath 0-8. Could it get any worse? It surely could. Bernard Brogan converted a free and Westmeath substitute Des Dolan shot a most untypical wide. However, his one-time Railway Cup colleague, Jason Sherlock was not so profligate, chipping in with another classy point. And the selection of the winners" only Sam Maguire Cup winner (from 1995) had been widely questioned! In the 23rd minute, Darren Magee started and finished a blistering move for Dublin"s third goal and the Hill was alive with the sound of musing as to what the winning margin could possibly be. The respective number 15s, 33-year-old Jason Sherlock and 19-year-old Conor Lynam swapped points, leaving the sky blue and navy-clad men ahead by 3-23 to 0-9 with ten minutes of normal time remaining.Dublin players were fighting for places at this juncture and one-time first choice player Tomás Quinn staked his claim for the showdown with Kildare with a fine solo goal (even if he would encounter more resistance in a casual training session in Parnell Park). David O"Shaughnessy, who had produced a heroic cameo role against Wicklow but was virtually anonymous in a similar role on Sunday, kicked a fine point on the half hour mark. Tomás Quinn and Jason Sherlock replied with two lightning points at the other end. John Connellan chipped in with a wonderful point (his fourth overall) but Dublin fittingly wrapped up match scoring, Ross McConnell becoming the tenth of the winners" outfit to register a score. An ambitious shot from Des Dolan was easily held by Stephen Cluxton (who had his handiest game ever in the number one Arnotts jersey). Referee Jimmy White sensibly blew up on the 35 minute mark and the humiliation was over.How good are Dublin? Very good indeed. Better than last year? Undoubtedly. Genuine All-Ireland contenders? Probably.How poor are Westmeath? Very poor indeed. Downhill from last year? Not by one year, but light years. Genuine Qualifier contenders? No way.And to those whom we will never see play Leinster championship football again, a heartfelt thanks for wearing the maroon and white jersey with such pride and distinction for so long. We are forever in your debt. You didn"t deserve to go out on such a low. But sport, like all facets of life, can be very cruel.Dublin: Stephen Cluxton; David Henry, Denis Bastick, Rory O"Carroll; Paul Griffin (capt), Ger Brennan, Barry Cahill (0-1); Ross McConnell (0-1), Darren Magee (1-0); Paul Flynn (0-1), Alan Brogan (0-4), Diarmuid Connolly (0-1); Conal Keaney (0-3, 0-1 from a free), Bernard Brogan (2-8, 0-5 from frees), Jason Sherlock (0-6). Subs: Pat Burke (for A.Brogan, 51 mins), Tomás Quinn (1-1) (for Keaney, 54 mins), Bryan Cullen (for Brennan, 58 mins), Shane Ryan (for B.Brogan, 61 mins), Ciaran Whelan (for Magee, 61 mins).Westmeath: Gary Connaughton; Francis Boyle, Kieran Gavin, John Keane (capt); Michael Ennis, Derek Heavin Donal O"Donoghue; Martin Flanagan, David Duffy; Fergal Wilson, John Smyth, Doran Harte; John Connellan (0-4), Denis Glennon (0-3, all from frees), Conor Lynam (0-3). Subs: Damien Healy (for O"Donoghue, 30 mins), David O"Shaughnessy (0-1) (for Flanagan, 30 mins), Des Dolan (for Wilson, 49 mins), Paul Sharry (for Heavin, 57 mins), Willie Murtagh (for Ennis, 62 mins).Referee: Jimmy White (Donegal).