Meath end two year wait for a League win

The Royals dug deep late on to reel off seven of the game's last nine points, Eamon Wallace's 71st minute score proving the winner.

HOLDING ON: Meath’s Jordan Morris and Boidu Sayeh of Westmeath

Allianz Football League Division 2 North 

Meath 0-16 

Westmeath 0-15 

Eamon Wallace capped a thrilling comeback from Meath with the winning point as the Royals finally turned the corner on a poor run of Allianz league form with a vital win.

Trailing by four points with 14 minutes of normal time remaining in Navan, and without a league win since March of 2019 when they beat Fermanagh, it looked ominous again for Andy McEntee's men.

But they dug deep late on to reel off seven of the game's last nine points, Wallace's 71st minute score proving the winner.

Meath had 12 different scorers with their bench providing 0-5 of their tally and delivering when it was most needed.

Fionn Reilly, a debutant, was one of those subs who clipped a score while James Conlon, Bryan McMahon and Wallace also kicked vital points.

It was Meath's first game under new skipper Shane McEntee who replaces last season's joint captains Donal Keogan and Bryan Menton.

The head-to-head between Westmeath's top scorer John Heslin and experienced Meath full-back Conor McGill was one of the duels of the game.

Heslin signalled early on that he was fully tuned in by playing a role in three of Westmeath's first four points.

Two of those scores came from converted 45s that he helped to win and which were dispatched by Luke Loughlin.

Former New York forward Loughlin caused similar trouble for the Meath hurlers at the same ground last November when he struck a crucial late goal in their Joe McDonagh Cup win.

Former captain Ger Egan was on the mark for Westmeath too who weren't exactly prolific from open play - only three of their first-half points came from play - but still possessed the lead at the interval, 0-8 to 0-7.

Jordan Morris, who scored 4-9 for Meath in his maiden Championship campaign in 2020, clipped a point but was well tracked by Boidu Sayeh generally.

In truth, it was far from a classic contest with just seven points from play between the two teams in that opening half.

It didn't get a whole pile better from Meath's perspective in the third quarter with the visitors moving three points clear at one stage.

Heslin was on song with one particularly eye-catching score from out on the right wing in the 46th minute.

Westmeath, also beaten by Dublin in last year's Championship, were two ahead at the second water break and stretched it to three again with a long-range score from ex-AFL man Ray Connellan.

The big midfielder created their next point with a long ball to Loughlin who did brilliantly to escape his marker and curl over, putting four between them.

It looked like Westmeath would kick on for a big win but they were overwhelmed in the closing minutes as Meath threw the kitchen sink at it and pulled off a badly needed win.

Scorers for Meath: J Morris (0-3, 3 frees); C O'Sullivan (1 mark), B Menton (1 free) (0-2 each); T O'Reilly (1 free), D Campion, M Costello, E Harkin, B Menton, F Reilly, J Conlon, A Colgan (1 free), E Wallace (0-1 each).

Scorers for Westmeath: J Heslin (0-7, 5 frees); L Loughlin (0-3, 2 45s); G Egan (0-2); R Connellan, R O'Toole, R Wallace (0-1 each).

MEATH: A Colgan; S Lavin, C McGill, R Ryan; D Keogan, S McEntee, E Harkin; B Menton, P Harnan; E Devine, D Campion, M Costello; J Morris, T O'Reilly, C O'Sullivan.

Subs: B McMahon for O'Reilly and J Conlon for Campion (h/t); J Scully for Costello and F Reilly for Harkin (51); E Wallace for Devine (58); J O'Connor for Morris (68), D Dillon for O'Sullivan (75).

WESTMEATH: J Daly; J Smith, K Maguire, B Sayeh; J Dolan, R Wallace, J Gonoud; S Duncan, R Connellan; D Lynch, R O'Toole, D Corroon; G Egan, J Heslin, L Loughlin.

Subs: K Martin for Lynch (54); L Dolan for Smith (63); B Kelly for Egan (75).

Referee: B Cawley (Kildare).