McCartan goal the difference as Westmeath sneak past Laois 

Westmeath's Sam McCartan makes a catch. Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Evan Treacy

Westmeath 1-13 Laois 0-13 

A superb individual goal from Sam McCartan in the 44th minute proved to be the crucial score as Westmeath eked out a hard-earned win against Laois in a well-contested Tailteann Cup opener in Portlaoise.

Laois had the aid of a useful wind in the first half, but it was Westmeath who opened the brighter with points from John Heslin (a free) and Luke Loughlin. Scores from James Finn (a long-range free via Jason Daly’s hands) and Evan O’Carroll (whose goalbound effort was deflected over the crossbar by Sam Duncan) levelled the contest by the eighth minute.

A minute later, a foul on Nigel Harte resulted in a Westmeath penalty, but Heslin’s spot-kick was superbly saved by Danny Bolger at the expense of a ‘45’ which Loughlin converted. The visitors were 0-5 to 0-2 ahead when their skipper Kevin Maguire was red-carded in the 20th minute for on an off-the-ball foul on Eoin Lowry.

They were only to score one more time in the first half, via a Heslin free. With Maguire absent, the Laois full forward line became more prominent, especially O’Carroll. Donie Kingston’s 34th-minute point put them ahead for the first time (0-7 to 0-6) and this remained the scoreline at the interval, Heslin having kicked his side’s first wide from a 40-metre free with the last kick of the half.

The respective number 10s, McCartan and Mark Barry, traded points shortly after the resumption of play. A Barry free in the 42nd minute put the home team three points to the good (0-10 to 0-7), but McCartan’s wonderful three-pointer brought Westmeath back on level terms. Two minutes later, Sean O’Flynn picked up a second yellow card to leave both sides with 14 players.

They were still tied (1-8 to 0-11) when Daly pulled off a great save with his feet from Paul Kingston in the 54th minute. Two fine points from Loughlin, followed by Heslin’s only score from play, put the Lake County three clear and despite some late Laois pressure, Westmeath held on for a deserved win.

Scorers for Westmeath: J Heslin 0-5 (4f), S McCartan 1-1, L Loughlin 0-4 (1‘45’), J Lynam, R O’Toole, R Forde 0-1 each.

Scorers for Laois: M Barry 0-5 (4f), E O’Carroll 0-4 (1f), E Lowry 0-2 (1m), D Kingston, J Finn (f) 0-1 each.

Westmeath: J Daly; J Smith, K Maguire, J Dolan; J Gonoud, R Wallace, N Harte; J Lynam, S Duncan; S McCartan, R O’Toole, D Lynch; G Egan, J Heslin, L Loughlin. Subs: R Forde for Egan (49), L Dolan for Duncan (67), A McCormack for Harte (inj., 70 + 4).

Laois: D Bolger; T Collins, M Timmons, S Greene; S O’Flynn, P O’Sullivan, C Heffernan; J Finn, D O’Reilly; M Barry, E Lowry, K Swayne; D Kingston, E O’Carroll, P Kingston. Subs: K Lillis for Finn (49), J O’Loughlin for Swayne (55), R Munnelly for D Kingston (63), A Farrell for Heffernan (67).

Referee: D O’Mahoney (Tipperary).