Comfortable win for students

The DCU footballers claimed a comfortable 0-18 to 0-8 win over a new-look Westmeath side at St Loman's, Mullingar.

In Brendan Hackett's first competitive game in charge of Westmeath, the Lake County were very much on the back foot - especially in the first half as the students motored into a 0-8 to 0-2 interval lead.

Cavan's Seanie Johnston and Donal Shine of Roscommon were most impressive for DCU in this O'Byrne Cup opener. The Dublin university also had excellent displays from Dublin's Bryan Cullen and Sligo attacker David Kelly.

Westmeath bounced back well in the second half, with Stephen Gallagher giving a commanding display in goal. However, DCU held an extra edge to book a place in the last-eight.