Pat Havern impressed for Down. Photo by Tyler Miller/Sportsfile
Allianz Football League Division Two
Down 1-26 (1-4-18) Westmeath 0-28 (0-4-20)
By Gerry Buckley at Páirc Esler
Down maintained their drive to remain in Division Two of the Allianz Football League while relegating a Westmeath side which has been very unfortunate throughout the campaign, in what was a pulsating encounter in Newry, the home team winning with a last-gasp fisted point from substitute Adam Crimmins
There was no shortage of action and good scores in the first half. Miceal Rooney edged Down in front, but a two-point free from Luke Loughlin put the visitors ahead with three minutes elapsed. Dermot McCabe’s charges led by 0-5 to 0-3 after a quarter of an hour, but they had already garnered no tangible reward from three ‘45’s.
A Loughlin one-point free put Westmeath three clear, but Down wiped this out in one fell swoop in the 17th minute when a fine movement ended with John McGeough palming the ball to the net. A great two-pointer from play by Brían Cooney in the 22nd minute put Westmeath two clear, but four unanswered points from Conor Laverty’s men, including a two-pointer from the impressive Pat Havern, edged them ahead by 1-8 to 0-9 with 26 minutes ahead.
The sides continued to trade points in an all-action finale to the first half. Down looked like they would go in at half-time a point ahead when the hooter sounded, but with the new tweaks in operation to the rule enhancements for this round of matches, Westmeath played on and were rewarded with a Loughlin point before the half-time whistle. At the break, the scoreboard read: Down 1-10 Westmeath 0-13.
If the first half was good, the second half was even better, with the lead changing hands regularly and both sides spurning goal chances while also kicking some great points.
Westmeath were the first guilty party for missing a goal chance when sub Enda Gaffney was foiled from point-blank range by Ronan Burns in the 46th minute, with the excellent Odhran Murdock pointing in a counterattack – his goal attempt was brilliantly deflected over the crossbar by Conor McCormack. A minute later, a free from Havern levelled the contest, 1-14 to 0-17.
Remarkably, the lead continued to yo-yo. The teams were still level, 1-17 to 0-20, when Cooney was denied a three-pointer in the 58th minute.
A rapid-fire brace of two-pointers from Havern (play and a free) put the Mourne County men ahead by a goal with 62 minutes elapsed.
However, the best score of the night, a two-pointer from play by Loughlin tied up the game again (1-21 to 0-24) with just over five minutes remaining. A draw looked likely until Crimmins popped up to break Lake County hearts as the hooter sounded.
Scorers for Down: P Havern 0-13 (3 2pts, 1 2ptf, 3f), J McGeough 1-1, S Millar 0-3, A Crimmins, M Rooney, O Murdock 0-2 each, R McEvoy, J Guinness, D Guinness 0-1 each.
Scorers for Westmeath: L Loughlin 0-9 (1 2pt, 1 2ptf, 4fs), B Cooney (2 2pts), R Forde (1f) 0-6 each, D McCartan, R Wallace, M Whittaker 0-2 each, S McCartan 0-1.
Down: Ronan Burns; Peter Fegan, Pierce Laverty, Ceilum Doherty; Ruairí McCormack, Daniel Guinness, Patrick McCarthy; Miceal Rooney, Ryan McEvoy; Aaron McClements, Odhran Murdock, James Guinness; Donal Scullion, Pat Havern, John McGeough.
Subs: Adam Crimmins for Scullion (h-t), Danny Magill for McCormack (44), Eugene Branagan for J Guinness (44), Shay Millar for McGeough (51), Caolan Mooney for McClements (60).
Westmeath: Conor McCormack; Jamie Gonoud, Jack Geoghegan, Conor Dillon; Stephen Smith, Ronan Wallace, Sam McCartan; Ray Connellan, Fionn O’Hara; Danny McCartan, Brían Cooney, Matthew Whittaker; Robbie Forde, Luke Loughlin, Brandon Kelly.
Subs: Joe Moran for O’Hara (inj., 28), Enda Gaffney for Smith (h-t), David Giles for Geoghegan (inj., 37), Kieran Martin for Kelly (51), Nigel Harte for Gaffney (68).
Referee: Brendan Cawley (Kildare).
