Kerry have defeated Westmeath in the Joe McDonagh Cup.
The Kingdom won the Round 2 tie at TEG Cusack Park by 2-19 to 0-14.
Kerry faced into a very strong wind in the first half as they went in pursuit of a second win and a good start to the fixture against Westmeath in the Joe McDonagh Cup.
The Kingdom made four changes from the side that defeated Meath last weekend and the green and gold were first into the attack only for the hosts to clear early danger.
The first score went to Westmeath from their first move forward and with the help of the wind, the shot from Robbie Greville dropped over the bar after one minute of play.
Shane Conway cancelled the lead with a point from a free after a foul on the Westmeath 45.
Mikey Boyle was clearly the target man in the full-forward line and when he was fouled from the Kingdom’s next attack, Shane Conway made no mistake to put Kerry into the lead.
Kerry were very strong when playing forward and on the third drive in a row, the ball made its way up from the full back line through the middle of the field and into the hands of Mikey Boyle – GOAL!
Westmeath responded immediately with a point only for the hosts to commit another foul which was punished again by Shane Conway.
Westmeath 0-02 Kerry 1-03 after 12 minutes.
Did we say that Kerry were playing into the wind? It took until just before the water break for Westmeath to start to use the wind to their advantage with three unanswered points – one from a free and two from play – to narrow the gap to a point.
Martin Stackpoole’s puck outs and a dogged defending from corner backs Eric Leen and John Buckley were key to Kerry’s positive performance during the first quarter.
Westmeath 0-05 Kerry 1-03 at the water break.
After missing a sitter, Shane Conway made amends with a magnetic catch, side-step and a nicely slotted shot over the bar after 23 minutes.
A David McNicholas point gave Westmeath some hope before the half-hour mark and when they found their range again twice more a couple of minutes later, side in maroon were in front.
Westmeath 0-08 Kerry 1-04 after 33 minutes, but Kerry were looking forward to playing with the wind in the second half.
A brilliant Shane Nolan strike levelled the scores again after receiving a fine pass from Mikey Boyle. However, there was some confusion as the point wasn’t registered because the referee deemed there was a foul during the move so Westmeath continued to lead by a point.
Three minutes of additional time at the end of the first 35 saw the sides battle it out in the middle of the park with Westmeath drawing a foul and punishing Kerry with their 9th point. The second quarter was dominated by Westmeath compared to Kerry’s ownership of the game before the water break.
That said, Shane Conway played “ping-pong” ball with the sliotar and he found the target to leave a point between them but a late free for Westmeath put two in it again.
Just before the break, Shane Conway took his chance to tap over the bar from a free to leave Kerry trailing by the minimum at the interval.
Half-Time: Westmeath 0-10 Kerry 1-06
The local media in Westmeath expressed during half time that they were very disappointed with the full-forward line with only 10 points being registered in the opening period with the strong wind behind them.
The second 35 minutes got underway in the same way the first half ended with Kerry putting Westmeath’s defence under pressure.
A major moment came after 6 minutes when Westmeath’s corner forward Niall O’Brien was shown a straight red card after an off-
the-ball incident with Kerry’s Eric Leen.
The 14 men were soon on level terms after a fantastic point from Causeway’s Colm Harty who struck the ball over his right shoulder to score.
Westmeath 0-10 Kerry 1-07
A quick answer from Westmeath resulted in a point from play to go back into the lead.
The sides exchanged points tit-for-tat with Kerry not fully utilising the wind that was in their backs with Michael O’Leary and Shane Conway on target for the Kingdom.
Westmeath 0-12 Kerry 1-09 after 11 minutes of the second half.
A Shane Conway point from a free put Kerry back into the lead for the first time since the second quarter, while John Buckley was playing a key role as extra cover in front of the full back line.
The 14 men broke through that cover to level it but that was short-lived when a good Kerry passage of play started by Shane Nolan was thwarted but Daniel Collins drew a foul for Shane Conway to score.
Points were swapped again with the 14 men of Westmeath showing great heart approaching the water break and trailing by a point.
Westmeath 0-14 Kerry 1-12
A close shave for Kerry came immediately after the break only for a Westmeath shot to ricochet off the post and wide. That spurred the Kingdom back into attack and to score.
Podge Boyle entered the field and made an impact straight away with a fantastic point to put Kerry into a 3 point lead after 25 minutes of the second half.
The Boyles – Podge and Mikey – combined beautifully after winning back the ball for a magnificent point from the former. Padraig Boyle’s 3rd point in the fourth minute of being on the pitch followed and Kerry now had some breathing space.
Westmeath 0-14 Kerry 1-15
There were tired legs in the maroon jerseys and Kerry’s extra man advantage was proving to be a major difference with the Kingdom playing with confidence.
Another point was followed by Maurice O’Connor who put his name on the scoresheet after finishing a lovely move from Daniel Collins and Shane Conway. Conway himself scored again from the puck out and Kerry were now in control.
Westmeath 0-14 Kerry 1-18 after 67 minutes.
Kerry’s second goal came from the stick of Shane Nolan after the Westmeath keeper had made a great save but the rebound was finished to the top corner. Kerry were out of sight.
Westmeath 0-14 Kerry 2-18 on 35 minutes.
Things were off the boil for Westmeath near the end when Joey Boyle picked up a yellow card for a foul on Padraig Boyle in the 73rd minute. Shane Conway’s free went over and that was that.
Kerry made it two wins from two in the Joe McDonagh Cup.
Final Score: Westmeath 0-14 Kerry 2-19
Kerry manager Fintan O'Connor
