Last-minute goal sees Cork clinch the draw

Cork 1-8 Westmeath 2-5

A last-minute fisted goal from Cork substitute Padraig Griffin spoiled what would have been a famous win for Westmeath, as Billy Morgan began his new term as Cork manager with a 1-8 to 2-5 draw at a sodden Pairc Ui Rinn in tonight’s Allianz NFL Division 1A clash.

The visitors, who had won three of their four previous competitive games under new boss Paidi Ó Sé, got the game’s first score off the back of a right-sided Joe Fallon free on eleven minutes.

They had to wait nearly twenty minutes for their next score, as substitute Martin Flanagan’s brace of points on 30 and 33 minutes saw them 0-5 to 0-3 down at the break.

Cork should have been further in front at that stage after Castlehaven full-forward Colin Crowley, through on goalkeeper Aidan Lennon, shot a weak goal effort wide after eight minutes.

In what proved to be a bruising encounter, with referee Brian White yellow-carding Westmeath’s Donal O’Donoghue and David O’Shaughnessy in the opening half hour, Morgan’s men stretched into a 0-5 to 0-1 lead by the 26th minute, and the third of Naomh Aban forward Micheal O'Croinin’s frees.

Cork midfielder Dermot Hurley, in his first league start, picked off his side’s sixth point five minutes after the break, before Westmeath substitute James Conroy volleyed home his side’s first goal from a spill by Cork ‘keeper Kevin O’Dwyer.

Despite O'Croinin’s fourth point and a 52nd-minute effort from Conor McCarthy, the O’Byrne Cup runners-up looked to have sealed their win with a second goal from substitute Gary Dolan, as he fisted a dropping Alan Mangan point attempt to the Cork net thirteen minutes from time.

But Griffin, on for the injured Philip Clifford, got in on the end of a lobbed free from O'Croinin to see a share of the spoils.

CORK: K O'Dwyer; S O'Brien, D Kavanagh, A Lynch; E Sexton, G Canty, M Cronin; D Hurley (0-1), N Murphy; A Cronin, M O Croinin (0-4, 4f), M McCarthy; P Clifford (0-1), B Collins (0-1), C Crowley. Subs used: C O’Sullivan for Kavanagh (36 mins), P Griffin (1-0) for Crowley (44 mins), C McCarthy (0-1) for M McCarthy, J O’Shea for Clifford (both 49 mins)

WESTMEATH: A Lennon; J Davitt, D O'Donoghue, F Murray; B Morley, D Kilmartin, D Heavin; R O'Connell, D O'Shaughnessy; F Dardis, M Ennis, A Mangan; J Fallon (0-1, 1f), P Martin, D Glennon.

Subs: M Flanagan (0-3, 1f) for Dardis (18 mins), J Conroy (1-1, 1f) for Martin (29 mins), G Dolan (1-0) for Ennis (ht), D Gavin for Kilmartin (43 mins)