Kildare take advantage to progress to O'Bryne Cup final

Westmeath stumbled in the second half as Kildare overturned a half-time deficit to qualify for next Sunday's O'Byrne Cup final, while last year's runners-up Louth beat UCD in the other semi-final.

Kildare maintained their good early season form with a 0-12 to 0-8 victory over Westmeath at Cusack Park in Mullingar. Free-taker Fionn Dowling was on target twice as the Lilywhites moved into a 0-4 to 0-0 lead by the 12th minute, with Alan Smith and full-back Michael Foley pointing from play.

Westmeath then hit their stride, knocking over six points without reply to take a 0-6 to 0-4 interval lead. Denis Glennon converted three frees, while recent debutant Alan Giles, a son of new selector Larry Giles, and Peter Tormey also pointed.

But Pat Flanagan's side faltered in the closing stages of the second half, as Kildare decisively pulled clear. It was anyone's game just after the restart. David Whyte kicked Kildare level with a quick brace of points.

Goalkeeper Darren Quinn came to Westmeath's rescue on two occasions, but a 57th minute point from Ger Egan nudged the Lake County side ahead again.

Still, Kildare had enough in the tank to hit the front in the closing minutes, with Suncroft clubman Dowling opting to send a late penalty over the crossbar.

In Drogheda, Louth progressed through to their third O'Byrne Cup decider in as many years on the back of a 2-11 to 0-16 triumph over the students of UCD.

Late on, Louth goalkeeper Sean Connor earned his corn with a superb save, denying Kevin McGourty a certain goal, and Ronan Carroll's injury-time point was the match-winning one for the hosts.

Shane Lennon (1-2), Carroll (0-4) and Mark Brennan (1-0) led the scoring for Peter Fitzpatrick's side, while free-taking duo Rob Kelly (0-6) and Ciaran Lyng (0-4) spearheaded the UCD challenge.

Two goals in the space of a minute, midway through the first half, sent Louth on their way to a 2-6 to 0-7 half-time lead. Brian Donnelly's ball in was flicked to the net by Lennon for the opener, and Lennon turned provider for Brennan to quickly add the second from close range.

UCD came back strongly as the first half came to a close, with Kelly, Tommy Warburton, John McLoughlin and Wexford man Lyng all finding their range. That trend continued in the second period, and the gap was suddenly down to 2-7 to 0-11.

The game remained close as Connor's save came just as Louth lost Padraig Rath to a second yellow card and from the resultant free, Kelly tied things up at 2-10 to 0-16. However, Carroll held his nerve to set up another January final for Louth, who lost out to DCU in last year's decider.