Listless Limerick leave it late

Westmeath 1-12 Limerick 4-15

Perhaps it was expecting a little too much that whatever stars aligned above Westmeath’s footballers seven days earlier at Croke Park might have retained their formation.

Still, with seven minutes to go in Mullingar and just four points separating the county’s hurlers from Limerick, the prospect of Westmeath staging another Lazarus-like recovery against vaunted opposition seemed plausible.