2024 Allianz Football League Division 3 – Westmeath 0-14 Limerick 1-8

Westmeath defeated Limerick by 0-14 to 1-8 in Round 4 of the Allianz Football League Division 3 on Sunday February 25th at TEG Cusack Park Mullingar.

Westmeath made to battle for points by Limerick https://t.co/tQ0mHIVRGV

— Irish Examiner Sport (@ExaminerSport) February 25, 2024

Westmeath made to battle for points by Limerick

Westmeath 0-14 Limerick 1-8

Report by Gerry Buckley for the Irish Examiner newspaper

Westmeath remain in second place behind Down on scoring difference in Division 3 of the National Football League after a hard-earned three-point win against pointless Limerick in a scrappy game in Mullingar yesterday afternoon.

Cathal Downes opened the scoring for the visitors in the fourth minute, at which stage no Westmeath player had touched the ball. Ronan Wallace equalised before his opposite number Iain Corbett kicked Limerick in front in great style. James Naughton doubled their lead at the end of a fine move, but Dessie Dolan’s wind-assisted troops scored five unanswered points between the 17th and 30th minutes. However, Limerick had the deficit down to the bare minimum by the interval (0-6 to 0-5) with scores from goalkeeper Aaron O’Sullivan (a ’45’) and corner back Jim Liston in added-time (a fly-kicked effort which could easily have been a goal).

On the change of ends, Westmeath kicked three unanswered points by the 48th minute to open up what looked to be a comfortable four-point advantage, the scores coming from Nigel Harte, very influential sub Kieran Martin, and Danny McCartan (a free). However, Limerick continued to plug away and they halved the gap with scores by Downes and Naughton (a free). In the 63rd minute, David Lynch hit the crossbar when a goal looked certain for the Lake County.

All Star nominee Ronan O’Toole was more prominent in the closing quarter and he scored three crucial points in that period. Westmeath led by 0-13 to 0-8 with just one minute of normal time remaining, but Jimmy Lee’s charges came right back into contention when Downes scored a wonderful goal in the first minute of added-time (a minute of four had been announced). It needed veteran Martin to complete a hat-trick of quality points to settle Westmeath nerves and retain their 100 per cent record.

After the game, winning manager Dessie Dolan opined that “winning is all that counts in football and it doesn’t have to be pretty”. He complimented Limerick for being “very aggressive and up for the match, as they had nothing to lose coming up here with zero points on the board”.

His opposite number Jimmy Lee praised his side for “fighting right to the bitter end” and he lauded Cathal Downes for “scoring a great goal”.

Scorers – Westmeath: R O’Toole, K Martin 0-3 each, R Wallace, D McCartan (1f) 0-2 each, S McCartan, N Harte, R Connellan, S Baker (f) 0-1 each.

Limerick: C Downes 1-2, J Naughton 0-2 (1f), A O’Sullivan (‘45’), P Nash (f), I Corbett, J Liston 0-1 each.

Westmeath: J Daly; K Maguire, C Drumm, J Gonoud; S McCartan, R Wallace, N Harte; R Connellan, A McCormack; D Lynch, R O’Toole, E Mulvihill; R Forde, S Baker, D McCartan
Subs: K Martin for Baker (42), S Smith for Forde (42), J Dolan for Mulvihill (55), C Dillon for D McCartan (64), S Allen for Harte (70).

Limerick: A O’Sullivan; J Liston, S O’Dea, P Maher; B Coleman, I Corbett, C McSweeney; T Childs, C Fahy; J Naughton, C Downes, P Nash; J Baynham, R Childs, T Siochru
Subs: T Griffin for Baynham (59), E Hurley for R Childs (67), S Costello for Maher (inj., 70+6).

Ref: J Gilmartin (Sligo).

Team News

Jimmy Lee has announced his Limerick Senior Football team and match panel for their round 4 Allianz Football League game:
Limerick Senior Football team travel to Mullingar this Sunday to take on Westmeath in Cusack Park Mullingar at 2pm. pic.twitter.com/G61q8po8ZH

— Limerick GAA (@LimerickCLG) February 24, 2024