February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
By Sean O’Reilly
Westmeath 0-9, St. Ray’s 1-6
Westmeath will consider this a game they should have won, and yet with 30 seconds remaining Sunday at Gaelic Park a shock defeat looked possible.
Indeed, having trailed for the 60 minutes, St. Raymond’s staged a miraculous recovery to snatch a draw from the jaws of a certain defeat.
A goal from midfielder Eric Quinn with less than a minute on the clock left St. Raymond’s on level terms, and with Westmeath still in shock, they came looking for the winner. It would have been rough justice had that happened, as Westmeath dominated for long periods. But their inability to score meant St. Raymond’s were still in it at the end.
In a low-scoring game, Westmeath took an early 4-point lead with scores from Barney Healy (2), Willie Lowry and Gus Murray. Raymond’s replied with a point from Mike Kileen. Westmeath should have been further ahead by halftime, but Barney Healey’s shot from close range rebounded off the crossbar and away to safety. This gave St. Raymond’s some hope and they finished the half as Westmeath had started, with points from wing back John Mulvihil and Brendan Wiely to leave the halftime score Westmeath 0-5, St. Raymond’s 0-3.
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Scores were scarce in the second half with Westmeath, who claimed most of the possession, unable to convert it into scores. Healy and C.J. Doherty swapped scores early on in the half and Gus Murray found the target after good work from Peter Dalton to leave 3 points between the sides.
St. Raymond’s kept in touch thanks to efforts from the Doherty and Mike Kileen. When Alan Bailey put Westmeath 3 points in front with 2 minutes remaining, the game looked to be over. Then came the dramatic finish. With seconds remaining, Eric Quin found himself in space in front of the goal and his low shot found the net, leaving Westmeath in trouble. A late surge from St. Raymond’s could have yielded a decisive point, but on a day where Westmeath had the upper hand for long periods, they didn’t deserve to lose.
Westmeath: P.Donaghue, A. Gilligan, K. Wilson, P. Spellman, D. Kenny, L. Call, B. Smith, P. Dalton, J. Madden, A. Bailey 0-1, P.J. Rodgers, B. Healy 0-5, G. Murray 0-3, W. Lowry 0-1, D. McCormack.
St. Raymond’s: J. Ravelle, K. Quinn, P. Lynch, P. Hayes, J. Mulvihil 0-1, C.J. Doherty 0-2, T. Hoey, E. Quinn 1-0, T. Mulvihill, M. Kileen 0-2, S. O’Flynn, B. Wiely 0-1, N. Blanchfield, J. Murtagh, D. Gallagher. Subs: D. O’Brien, M. Lynch, E. O’ Sullivan.