Westmeath held by Fermanagh

Fermanagh 1-9 Westmeath 0-12

What looked to be a certain Westmeath win in the second half in Enniskillen turned into a fortuitous draw, as Fermanagh led by Stephen Maguire (1-03) picked up their first Division 1A point in a 1-9 to 0-12 stalemate.

Despite missing the scoring talents of Martin Flanagan (1-5 in the first two rounds) due to an ankle injury, Westmeath were boosted by the return of full forward Dessie Dolan to their starting line up and two scores by Dolan on seven and 22 minutes helped edge the visitors into a 0-5 to 0-3 lead.

Fergal Winston, Denis Glennon and late replacement Tom Stuart-Trainor all pointed for Westmeath inside the first quarter.

David Mitchell, another late Westmeath replacement for stricken back Donal O’Donoghue, was having a tough time marking the lively Maguire, who had pointed the home side in front after 60 seconds.

An off-colour Maguire was to miss four crucial frees for the Erne men as the sides went in 0-6 a-piece at the break, with Michael Ennis scoring from 30m for Wesmeath and Ryan Keenan, James Sherry and Liam McBarron on target for the home side.

A run of four early second half points from Dolan helped Páidi Ó Se’s men into a 0-11 to 0-6 lead by the 40th minute.

Maguire notched 0-3 from frees in reply and goaled on 53 minutes, after a deflection off an Eamon Maguire shot spun his way.

Shane McDermott helped Fermanagh into the lead in the closing minutes, but Dolan cancelled their one-point lead with a late free.