Westmeath take victory in Christy Ring encounter

Westmeath 2-22 Kildare 3-13

First-half goals from Paddy Dowdall and Andrew Mitchell inside 25 minutes steered Westmeath to victory in a repeat of last year's Christy Ring Cup final.

Westmeath, backed by the breeze, led by 2-13 to 1-06 at the interval, but Adrian McAndrew got the second half off to a perfect start for Kildare, who trailed by just 2-13 to 3-08 inside eight minutes.

Despite Westmeath hitting eight wides in the second half, Brendan Murtagh slotted over the vital scores for the defending champions.