Kildare edge Westmeath in Leinster thriller

On a night when they paid tribute to Mick O'Dwyer, Kildare delivered a performance that might have lacked the quality of his very best teams but it certainly had the character.

It had to be to see off a gallant Westmeath outfit who gave as good as they got at a packed and atmospheric Cedral St Conleth’s Park as Kildare eventually marked their first provincial championship game on their home turf in 30 years with a win.

It didn’t always look likely through a difficult first-half. Although Brian McLoughlin and David Hyland kicked two excellent points from beyond the two-point arc to push Kildare 0-05 to 0-01 ahead early on, Westmeath gradually got on top around the middle third.

Kildare struggled to win possession from their own kick-outs and Westmeath began to build momentum. They scored four in a row to tie the game and after Kildare answered back with two points in a row, Westmeath rattled off the next five, including three from the increasingly influential Luke Loughlin.

Well-timed Kildare goals were to be a feature of the game and the first of those arrived in the 29th minute when a direct ball by Ben McCormack found Alex Beirne and he did the rest to tie the game.

They should have got a second straight from the kick-out but Darragh Kirwan’s shot was saved.

Westmeath led by a point at half time, 0-12 to 1-08, and they went three ahead early in the second half through a two-pointer by Loughlin.

Westmeath's Robbie Forde comes under pressure from Colm Dalton

Westmeath had already suffered a huge blow by then though when the brilliant Ray Connellan, probably the game’s best player in the first-half, suffered a hamstring injury. It was a monumental blow for Westmeath, with Kevin Feely and Callum Bolton taking over in midfield after that.

Westmeath were still 0-16 to 1-11 ahead in the 50th minute when McCormack provided another assist for a goal, inadvertently this time when his shot dropped short and David Hyland fisted home his first championship goal.

Kildare never relinquished the lead after that, and their cause was helped by a 60th-minute black card shown to Nigel Harte.

Loughlin kicked a monster two-point free and then a closer score, either side of a Niall Kelly point, to leave two in it but Kildare secured possession from the last kick-out and Tommy Gill, who turned in an excellent display on his championship debut, kicked the ball into the terraces after the hooter had blown to send Kildare into the Leinster semi-final and Westmeath back to the Tailteann Cup.

Kildare chairman Mick Mullen, left, makes a presentation of behalf of Kildare GAA to the family of the late Mick O'Dwyer and accepted by his son and former Kildare footballer Karl O'Dwyer

Kildare: Cian Burke; Harry O'Neill, Mark Dempsey, Brian Byrne; Kevin Flynn, David Hyland (1-02, 1tp), James McGrath; Kevin Feely, Callum Bolton; Colm Dalton (0-01), Alex Beirne (1-05, 0-03fs), Ben McCormack (0-02); Ryan Sinkey (0-02), Darragh Kirwan (0-01), Brian McLoughlin (0-02, 1tp).

Subs: Ryan Burke for O'Neill (14), Tommy Gill (0-01) for Flynn (32), Niall Kelly (0-01) for McLoughlin (51), Cathal Hagney for Feely (61-63), Mick O'Grady for Dempsey (67).

Westmeath: Conor McCormack; Jamie Gonoud (0-01), David Giles, Conor Dillon; Nigel Harte, Ronan Wallace, Sam McCartan (0-01); Ray Connellan (0-01), Fionn O'Hara; Kevin O'Sullivan (0-01), Danny McCartan (0-03), Matthew Whittaker; Robbie Forde (0-02), Luke Loughlin (0-11, 1tp, 1tpf, 0-01f), Brían Cooney (0-01).

Subs: Brian Guerin for Whittaker (28-32), Brian Guerin for Connellan (38), Jonathan Lynam for D McCartan (51), Eoghan McCabe for O'Sullivan (55), Brandon Kelly for Cooney (55), Kieran Martin for Forde (64).

Referee: David Gough (Meath).

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