FOR THE THIRD championship game in a row, Westmeath have thrived in extra time to launch their All-Ireland campaign with a thrilling victory over Cavan.
Their Leinster semi-final and final also couldn’t be decided after 70 minutes, and a mighty Cavan fightback ensured that this encounter in Cusack Park would end the same way.
Westmeath looked comfortable at half-time with a 0-12 to 0-6 lead, but second-half goals from Paddy Lynch, Paddy Meade and a third from Dara McVeety in extra-time brought Cavan roaring to life.
‼️WESTMEATH GOAL‼️
A savage steal from John Heslin opens the gates for Kevin O'Sullivan to secure a goal in the closing stages of extra-time🥅🔥🤝@westmeath_gaa@CavanCoBoardGaa#WESvCAV
Substitutes Darragh Lovett and Conor Casey as Cavan led by six at the break of extra-time.
But Mark McHugh’s side dominated the second period with Kevin O’Sullivan blasting to the net to help clinch a four-point win, which puts them in the Round 2A draw on Tuesday morning.
The first score arrived after five minutes as Brían Cooney opened Westmeath’s account with a brilliant two-pointer, followed by Brandon Kelly’s first of the game shortly after.
Emmanuel Shehu got Cavan moving with their first point of the evening in the ninth minute before winning a free from outside the arc, which Paddy Lynch landed for the equaliser.
Kelly edged Westmeath back in front from the palm but Shehu continued his lively start with a well-taken point to make it 0-4 0-4 apiece after the first quarter.
Shane Corcoran then scratched his name onto the Westmeath scoresheet before almost creating a goal chance for Conor Dillon. After turning over possession, Westmeath broke forward, allowing Corcoran to squeeze through the cover. He tried to feed the ball to Dillon, who was slightly off balance at the time of the pass and couldn’t direct the ball into the net.
Cavan levelled matters again through Ryan Donohoe, but Westmeath went on to outscore Cavan by 0-7 to 0-1 for the rest of the half. They snagged the next four scores, starting with Matthew Whitaker and Kelly.
A sublime Sam McCartan two-pointer fired Westmeath into a four-point lead after 25 minutes. Ronan Wallace continued their period of dominance with a well worked point.
Conor Brady briefly interrupted that momentum with a point from the hand, but Westmeath had most of the possession and further points were supplied by Dillon and Senan Baker.
A 0-12 to 0-6 half-time advantage was a deserved reflection of Westmeath’s superiority.
Substitute Lovett almost gave Cavan the perfect start with a goal-bound shot that cracked back into play off the post. Lovett was gifted possession when the Westmeath defence was caught out of position. He then sidestepped the Westmeath goalkeeper Jason Daly with his first touch, but the angle was just too tight.
McCartan and Baker punished Cavan for failing to take that opportunity with points on the other end to extend Westmeath’s advantage to eight. Wallace added his second of the game to put even more daylight between the teams.
Tiarnan Madden struck a badly needed two-pointer to give Cavan a spark and Lynch complimented that newfound momentum with a brilliant goal to leave his side trailing by 0-16 to 1-9.
McCartan and Madden exchanged frees before substitutes Casey and McVeety combined to leave the minimum between the sides. Casey kicked a vital two-pointer as McVeety also found the target heading into the final 10 minutes.
Westmeath responded by carving out the next three points of the game through Dillon, Kelly and substitute Robbie Forde, while a Lynch free brought the gap back to three.
Cavan’s second goal came from Meade after Lovett cut in around his marker Tadhg Baker and saw his shot crash into the crossbar. Meade was alert to put the rebound in the net and level the tie.
⚖️GOAL FOR A LEVEL GAME ⚖️
Cavan are going nowhere as a joint effort from Darragh Lovett and Paddy Meade brings the Breffni County level with Westmeath in the closing minutes👀‼️⏳@westmeath_gaa@CavanCoBoardGaa#WESvCAV
Cavan had outscored Westmeath by 2-8 to 0-5 to get back into the contest, but it was Westmeath who got the next two points as Whitaker and Kelly edged their side ahead again.
Cavan refused to surrender though, as Casey lifted another orange flag from a magnificent kick out near the sideline.
Westmeath had one more chance to snatch the victory with a late free which John Heslin stood over after his second-half introduction. He fizzed it wide, and the full-time buzzer signalled extra-time at 0-22 to 2-16.
The rain arrived in a torrent for extra-time and Westmeath appeared to adapt to the conditions quicker with early points from Jack Duncan and Heslin.
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Cavan quickly took over as Lovett cancelled that out with a two-pointer, and goal number three came shortly after. Casey was kicking from two-point range again when his shot dropped short and McVeety timed his arrival to punch the ball home.
Lovett landed another two-pointer and Lynch added a free as Cavan went into the half-time break having outscored Westmeath by 1-5 to 0-2.
But the second period belonged to Westmeath. They made the stronger start again, launching their resurgence with a brace of two-pointers from Senan Baker and Wallace to leave them down by just two.
Kelly then completed a swift Westmeath counter-attack with an important point before the decisive score of the game. Heslin worked a turnover, popped the ball on to Kelly, who in turn fed Kevin O’Sullivan for a powerful strike to the net.
Two late frees from Heslin eased Westmeath to victory as the home fans roared each shot over the bar.
From trailing by six after the period of extra-time, Westmeath scored 1-7 on the resumption and clinched a four-point win.
Westmeath:
Jason Daly; Daniel Scahill, Charlie Drumm (0-01), Tadhg Baker; Ronan Wallace (0-04, 1 2pt), Shane Allen, Matthew Whittaker (0-02); Brían Cooney (0-02 2pt), Ray Connellan; Kevin O’Sullivan (1-00), Sam McCartan (0-04, 1 2ptf, 2f), Conor Dillon (0-02); Shane Corcoran (0-01), Senan Baker (0-04, 1 2pt), Brandon Kelly (0-06).
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Westmeath survive Cavan fightback to launch All-Ireland campaign with another extra-time win
Westmeath 1-31
Cavan 3-21
(After extra-time)
FOR THE THIRD championship game in a row, Westmeath have thrived in extra time to launch their All-Ireland campaign with a thrilling victory over Cavan.
Their Leinster semi-final and final also couldn’t be decided after 70 minutes, and a mighty Cavan fightback ensured that this encounter in Cusack Park would end the same way.
Westmeath looked comfortable at half-time with a 0-12 to 0-6 lead, but second-half goals from Paddy Lynch, Paddy Meade and a third from Dara McVeety in extra-time brought Cavan roaring to life.
Substitutes Darragh Lovett and Conor Casey as Cavan led by six at the break of extra-time.
But Mark McHugh’s side dominated the second period with Kevin O’Sullivan blasting to the net to help clinch a four-point win, which puts them in the Round 2A draw on Tuesday morning.
The first score arrived after five minutes as Brían Cooney opened Westmeath’s account with a brilliant two-pointer, followed by Brandon Kelly’s first of the game shortly after.
Emmanuel Shehu got Cavan moving with their first point of the evening in the ninth minute before winning a free from outside the arc, which Paddy Lynch landed for the equaliser.
Kelly edged Westmeath back in front from the palm but Shehu continued his lively start with a well-taken point to make it 0-4 0-4 apiece after the first quarter.
Shane Corcoran then scratched his name onto the Westmeath scoresheet before almost creating a goal chance for Conor Dillon. After turning over possession, Westmeath broke forward, allowing Corcoran to squeeze through the cover. He tried to feed the ball to Dillon, who was slightly off balance at the time of the pass and couldn’t direct the ball into the net.
Cavan levelled matters again through Ryan Donohoe, but Westmeath went on to outscore Cavan by 0-7 to 0-1 for the rest of the half. They snagged the next four scores, starting with Matthew Whitaker and Kelly.
A sublime Sam McCartan two-pointer fired Westmeath into a four-point lead after 25 minutes. Ronan Wallace continued their period of dominance with a well worked point.
Conor Brady briefly interrupted that momentum with a point from the hand, but Westmeath had most of the possession and further points were supplied by Dillon and Senan Baker.
A 0-12 to 0-6 half-time advantage was a deserved reflection of Westmeath’s superiority.
Substitute Lovett almost gave Cavan the perfect start with a goal-bound shot that cracked back into play off the post. Lovett was gifted possession when the Westmeath defence was caught out of position. He then sidestepped the Westmeath goalkeeper Jason Daly with his first touch, but the angle was just too tight.
McCartan and Baker punished Cavan for failing to take that opportunity with points on the other end to extend Westmeath’s advantage to eight. Wallace added his second of the game to put even more daylight between the teams.
Tiarnan Madden struck a badly needed two-pointer to give Cavan a spark and Lynch complimented that newfound momentum with a brilliant goal to leave his side trailing by 0-16 to 1-9.
McCartan and Madden exchanged frees before substitutes Casey and McVeety combined to leave the minimum between the sides. Casey kicked a vital two-pointer as McVeety also found the target heading into the final 10 minutes.
Westmeath responded by carving out the next three points of the game through Dillon, Kelly and substitute Robbie Forde, while a Lynch free brought the gap back to three.
Cavan’s second goal came from Meade after Lovett cut in around his marker Tadhg Baker and saw his shot crash into the crossbar. Meade was alert to put the rebound in the net and level the tie.
Cavan had outscored Westmeath by 2-8 to 0-5 to get back into the contest, but it was Westmeath who got the next two points as Whitaker and Kelly edged their side ahead again.
Cavan refused to surrender though, as Casey lifted another orange flag from a magnificent kick out near the sideline.
Westmeath had one more chance to snatch the victory with a late free which John Heslin stood over after his second-half introduction. He fizzed it wide, and the full-time buzzer signalled extra-time at 0-22 to 2-16.
The rain arrived in a torrent for extra-time and Westmeath appeared to adapt to the conditions quicker with early points from Jack Duncan and Heslin.
Cavan quickly took over as Lovett cancelled that out with a two-pointer, and goal number three came shortly after. Casey was kicking from two-point range again when his shot dropped short and McVeety timed his arrival to punch the ball home.
Lovett landed another two-pointer and Lynch added a free as Cavan went into the half-time break having outscored Westmeath by 1-5 to 0-2.
But the second period belonged to Westmeath. They made the stronger start again, launching their resurgence with a brace of two-pointers from Senan Baker and Wallace to leave them down by just two.
Kelly then completed a swift Westmeath counter-attack with an important point before the decisive score of the game. Heslin worked a turnover, popped the ball on to Kelly, who in turn fed Kevin O’Sullivan for a powerful strike to the net.
Two late frees from Heslin eased Westmeath to victory as the home fans roared each shot over the bar.
From trailing by six after the period of extra-time, Westmeath scored 1-7 on the resumption and clinched a four-point win.
Westmeath:
Jason Daly; Daniel Scahill, Charlie Drumm (0-01), Tadhg Baker; Ronan Wallace (0-04, 1 2pt), Shane Allen, Matthew Whittaker (0-02); Brían Cooney (0-02 2pt), Ray Connellan; Kevin O’Sullivan (1-00), Sam McCartan (0-04, 1 2ptf, 2f), Conor Dillon (0-02); Shane Corcoran (0-01), Senan Baker (0-04, 1 2pt), Brandon Kelly (0-06).
Subs:
Cavan:
Liam Brady; Barry Donnelly, Brían O’Connell, Evan Crowe; Gerard Smith, Ciarán Brady, Conor Brady (0-01); Jensen Tynan, Paddy Meade (1-00); Tiarnan Madden (0-04, 1 2ptf, 2f), Ryan Donohoe (0-01), Emmanuel Shehu (0-02); Caoimhan McGovern, Fionntán O’Reilly, Paddy Lynch (1-04, 1 2ptf, 2f).
Subs:
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