Tyrone snatch victory at the death

Westmeath 2-10 Tyrone1-15

Tyrone rescued a win from the jaws of defeat at Cusack Park in Mullingar as a late burst of 1-2 saw them pip Westmeath in a dramatic finish.

The All-Ireland champions were staring at their third loss in NFL Division 1 when Michael Ennis slammed home Westmeath's second goal, with two minutes of normal time left. That strike put the midlanders back in front at 2-10 to 0-13.

But Tyrone stole in to take the two league points from the hosts'

grasp when late call-up Colm Cavanagh netted in the dying seconds after Niall Gormley's initial effort had been saved.

The result, a cruel blow for Westmeath, leaves Tomas O Flatharta's men rooted to the bottom of the top flight table and without a point to show for their efforts in their first four games.

Tyrone's second win of the campaign has eased their relegations worries, moving them up to fourth in the standings.

The Red Hands lost Enda McGinley to an early injury but three points from Gormley (free), Davy Harte and Sean Cavanagh saw the visitors cruise ahead.

While Tyrone maintained their lead, Westmeath, who were missing the likes of Dessie Dolan and Martin Flanagan, boosted their confidence with scores from debutant Conor Lynman, Denis Glennon (0-2) and Niall Kilcoyne.

The two O'Neills, Sean (0-2) and Shaun, took Tyrone's tally to 0-6 in the meantime, but O Flatharta's side showed their mettle by sticking with the pre-match favourites.

Denis Glennon took his personal haul to 0-4 but a couple of late frees from Sean Cavanagh handed Tyrone a 0-9 to 0-7 advantage to take into the second period.

There was no sign of Westmeath wilting as on the restart, Kilcoyne was unfortunate to see his fisted effort bounce back off the crossbar.

A point duly arrived from Conrad Reilly and while Cavanagh quickly cancelled that effort out, Glennon, Westmeath's best player on the day, was able to reply once again.

Glennon increased his influence in the 49th minute when he got the better of Conor Gormley to register Westmeath's first goal, moving them 1-9 to 0-10 ahead.

With the wind at their backs, Tyrone were soon back level when Davy Harte scored a sublime point, bending the ball over off the outside of his right boot from far out.

As the excitement levels increased, Harte's men kept pace with the hosts and their star performer Glennon thanks to points from McCullagh and Cavanagh.

Ennis' goal edged Westmeath closer to a shock win but Tyrone engineered a memorable comeback right at the death as despite an excellent save from Gary Connaughton, denying Gormley, the younger Cavanagh was on hand to bulge the net and snatch a stunning victory.