Laois and Wexford drew in the Dalata Hotels Group Leinster U20 Football Championship. Photo by Laois GAA
Dalata Hotel Group Leinster U20 Football Championship
Group 1
Meath 0-19 Westmeath 0-12
Dublin 2-17 Offaly 1-13
Group 2
Louth 0-27 Wicklow 1-19
Group 3
Kildare 4-26 Carlow 0-18
Laois 0-19 Wexford 1-16
By Paul Keane
Michael McIvor, Meath's powerful midfielder from the St Vincent's club, gave a tour de force in Kinnegad as the Dalata Hotel Group Leinster U-20 FC holders made it back to back wins.
Fresh off a morale boosting Round 1 defeat of Dublin, Cathal O Bric's side hit hosts Westmeath hard and early and ultimately cruised to a seven-point win.
Meath are blessed at this age grade with a number of tall, physically imposing athletes who can also play ball and McIvor is one of those.
The big number nine scored six points and registered five of those in the first 11 minutes as Meath strode into a 0-10 to no score lead at the Coralstown-Kinnegad club grounds.
One of McIvor's scores came from a two-pointer while Ben Corkery also weighed in with a brace of scores during the early blitz.
Eamonn Armstrong, last season's Leinster Player of the Year, has been snapped up by AFL side St Kilda but is playing in this season's U-20 campaign and the Leaving Cert student oozed quality next to McIvor.
Westmeath duo Finn Duffy and Shane Ormsby pulled back points but further Meath points late in the half left the visitors 0-12 to 0-4 up at half-time.
Westmeath will take heart from winning the second-half by a point, despite losing a man to a red card midway through the half, and they carved out a series of decent goal chances.
But a mixture of errant shooting and strong Meath defending meant Westmeath couldn't grab the goal they needed to really ignite the contest.
Their agony was compounded by Ormsby's shot at goal seven minutes into stoppage time which was saved by Meath 'keeper Matthew Kealy.
In the other Group 1 game, Dublin bounced back from their loss to Meath with a badly needed win over Offaly.
Joe Quigley and Paddy Kelly struck the Dublin goals but the Sky Blues had to fight all the way for the win at Offaly's Faithful Fields training centre.
Dublin stretched their 1-9 to 1-8 half-time lead to a six-point advantage midway through the second-half following scores from Charlie McMorrow, Kelly, Rian Doherty and Quigley.
But two Offaly two-pointers, both from Cillian Foran, cut the deficit to just three points with four minutes to go.
Dublin finished the game off with a 56th minute Kelly goal followed by a Senan Ryan point.
Louth recorded their second win in Division 2, though their 14-point half-time lead was cut in half by a resurgent Wicklow.
The Wee County drilled six two-pointers in the first-half with Tadhg McDonnell and Adam Gillespie nailing some eye-catching scores.
But Wicklow hit back with their own two-point scores after the break, from Ryan Harrison and Aaron O'Brien, and Paidi Kavanagh converted a penalty three minutes from time.
Kildare were the big winners in Group 3, taking care of neighbours Carlow with 20 points to spare.
Ben Loakman and Ross Harris drilled first-half goals to leave the Lilies 2-16 to 0-9 up at half-time.
Kildare, Leinster minor championship finalists three seasons ago, added two more second-half goals through Eoin Cully and Jimmy Lynch.
Laois fought back from 10 points down at half-time, and 12 at one stage early in the second-half, to dramatically draw with Wexford in the other Group 3 game.
Laois were desperate for a result after a Round 1 defeat and turned in a terrific second-half performance.
Sam Ryan got them going with a 35th minute point and Eannae Byrne picked up the baton with a two-pointer and a single to cut the gap further.
Byrne and Paddy Fitzpatrick added further points late on, laying the platform for Darren Brennan to strike a stoppage time equaliser.
