Down secure promotion after easy win over Westmeath

Westmeath 0-8 Down 2-15

Benny Coulter pulled the strings for Down as they secured promotion to Allianz NFL Division 1 with a comfortable win over lowly Westmeath.

Coulter failed to score at Cusack Park but took to the play-making role perfectly, with Mark Poland (1-4) leading the visitors' scoring.

Ambrose Rodgers helped himself to 1-2 as Westmeath, who are bound for Division 3, trailed by 1-8 to 0-3 at half-time.

Coulter and Rodgers then teed up Poland's goal, and Westmeath's woes were compounded by Doran Harte's late sending-off.

The Mourne men hit two early wides before John Clarke and Poland claimed the opening points.

A fine pass from Coulter unlocked the Westmeath defence and allowed team captain Rodgers to stride through and collect his side's first goal.

Westmeath were struggling to make an impact but John Smyth lifted spirits when he landed their first point, at the tail end of the first quarter.

Down pressed on and despite hitting eight wides by half-time, they had foraged into a 1-8 to 0-3 lead with Rodgers (1-2) and Clarke (0-2) excelling.

David Duffy caught some terrific marks for Westmeath but the hosts' attack disappointed and Brendan McArdle kept full-forward Martin Flanagan particularly quiet.

Coulter, still scoreless, was exerting all his influence in open play and he threaded a fine pass through for Ronan Murtagh to extend Down's advantage, as the second half resumes.

The result was put beyond any doubt when a sweeping move, with Coulter and Rodgers to the fore, ended with Poland bulging the hosts' net.

Westmeath just could not recover and they had to see out their sixth straight league defeat with 14 players, as Harte earned a straight red card for an incident involving Kevin McKernan.

Down's fifth win of the campaign saw them book their place in Division 1 for next season, allowing manager James McCartan to chalk off one of the targets for his first year at the helm.