Sixty seconds from history

Laois 0-13 Westmeath 0-13

Westmeath came so close to their first provincial crown yesterday, their supporters must have ached as each of the closing minutes passed.

The Laois captain, Chris Conway had the final say, nailing the equaliser as the game entered injury time. There was supposed to be three minutes of that, but the sheer pace of this match was taking its toll on tiring limbs, players were dropping like flies.

Laois defender Paul McDonald needed lengthy attention, following Conway’s score. By the time, Westmeath keeper Gary Connaghton kicked the ball out, Pat McEnaney blew it up. The ball was in play for less than a minute of injury time.

Nevertheless, nobody saw fit to complain. A draw was a fair result. Laois were content that they managed to claw their way back into a game that had slipped from them, Westmeath seemed happy enough to do it all over again next Saturday.

But, they should be the more disappointed. As the game eased into a more settled rhythm in the second half-after a jittery and strange opening phase, it seemed Westmeath were to realise their destiny. The hunger of their defence, typified by the performances of Donal O’Donoghue and John Keane, was augmented by some confident attacking, especially from Denis Glennon. He notched four points from play, three of these despite the attention of Tom Kelly.

They controlled midfield for vast stretches of the game, Rory O'Connell, unshackled by the High Court, entering the fray after 20 minutes. Once he familiarised himself with the tenor of this match, O'Connell slid in beside David O'Shaughnessy and Paul Conway perfectly.

No matter how congested midfield became, one of this trio always appeared to emerge with the ball. Had McEnaney decided to play those two minutes of injury time, Westmeath would have always been more likely to be celebrating a historic success.

Of course, they had their chances in normal time. The toil of Conway and vision of Dessie Dolan found space for Glennon in the 61st minute and, with confidence , he flicked the ball over the bar.

That left Westmeath a point ahead and those final ten minutes should have yielded, at least, another score. They had enough possession, had Brian Morley shown more composure when shooting a moment later, or had they won another free, bonfires would have lit the road back to Mullingar last night.

Laois fought hard to keep their Leinster title. Conway’s equaliser was due to their battling qualities, but for most of the game, they were second best to a Westmeath side that had the same ravenous appetite Micko discovered in Portlaoise last summer.

For once, Laois made a lightning start. Although Fergal Wilson had put Westmeath ahead in the 25th second from a free he won himself, all the early action was dominated by Laois, as the underdogs sought to calm nerves.

Beano McDonald, Ross Munnelly and Kevin Fitzpatrick all scored within the first five minutes and when Munnelly arced one of his trademark wonderful scores over the bar in the 15th minute, the champions looked like they were enjoying themselves.

As with every game they played this year, a few tactical changes were made in the Westmeath side, O'Connell was brought in, and Westmeath started to exert their authority on the game. Within 14 minutes, Dessie Dolan put Westmeath ahead for the first time since Wilson's free, benefitting from O'Shaughnessy's persistence down the left flank. Beano squared things up before the break, 0-6 apiece, and Laois left the dressing-room with more of a stomach for the heat in the second half, Shane Cooke and Beano stretching their lead to two points. Westmeath never panicked, neither on the field nor the line.

They had to wait for 13 minutes before their first score of the half, a Dolan free, but that ignited the side once again. Joe Fallon was sprung from the bench, and as is common-place in Westmeath's summer story, tapped over two fine scores. Ross Munnelly was unable to continue and, with Padraig Clancy and Noel Garvan unable to win any sort of break around the middle, Beano had to drop further back in search of the football. Mostly, it was in the hands of Conway or O'Shaughnessy.

Even when Laois attacked, they found a firm wall held up by the stabilising force of O'Donoghue. Colm Parkinson couldn't find one yard of space because of his old college buddy John Keane. Darren Rooney careened forward to kick an inspirational score in the 54th minute, bringing the deficit back to one, but Westmeath had that little bit extra. Or so it felt. Had another minute or two being played, history, beckoning all afternoon, might have been answered.

Now, we will have to wait until next weekend.

Scorers: Westmeath: D Dolan (0-5, 3 frees), D Glennon(0-4), F Wilson (0-2, both frees), J Fallon (0-2). Laois: B McDonald (0-4, 2 frees), R Munnelly, C Conway (0-2 each), S Cooke (0-2, both frees), M Lawlor, K Fitzpatrick, D Rooney (0-1 each).

LAOIS: F Byron; A Fennelly, C Byrne, J Higgins, D Rooney, T Kelly, P McDonald; P Clancy, N Garvan; R Munnelly, B McDonald, C Conway, I Fitzgerald, C Parkinson, K Fitzpatrick.

Subs: M Lawlor for Fitzgerald (22 mins), S Cooke for Byrne(32), G Kavanagh for Munnelly (52), P Lawlor for M Lawlor (69).

WESTMEATH: G Connaughton; J Davitt, D O'Donoghue, J Keane, M Ennis, D Healy, D Heavin; G Dolan, D O'Shaughnessy; B Morley, P Conway, F Wilson, A Mangan, D Glennon, D Dolan.

Subs: R O'Connell for G Dolan( 20 mins), J Fallon for Mangan (46 mins), S Colleary for Wilson (56), D Mitchell for Morley (65), D. Kilmartin for Davitt (69).

Referee: P McEnaney (Monaghan).