U20 hurlers overcome Dundon's dismissal to record superb win
Carlow's Andy Jordan and Thomas Sheehan celebrate beating Westmeath in the Leinster GAA Fulfil U 20 hurling championship
14-man Carlow got their under 20 hurling championship hopes back on track when they out-fought Westmeath at The Training Centre on Friday.
The home side looked to be in trouble early on. They had opted to play with the strong wind which was blowing from right to left. Points from Ruairi Murphy, Ruarc O’Neill and Jake Nolan should have been the platform for them to push on but the rate of scoring dried up as Westmeath got back into the contest. Thanks to the accuracy of Dylan Corrigan, Luke Meyler and Kian Loughlin, the visitors found themselves only trailing 0-9 to 0-8 at the interval.
Minutes into the second half, Carlow lost Mark Dundon to a straight red card for a high tackle. Their position looked difficult at that stage but they responded brilliantly to keep their noses in front and while Westmeath drew level on a number of occasions, the eventual winners were able to respond.
Murphy converted a number of frees and also found the target from a 65 while Tomas Sheehan vindicated his introduction scoring two points from play. Loughlin was Westmeath’s go to person and he punished Carlow indiscipline on a number of occasions.
In the end, Carlow’s ability to dig in and defy the odds saw them emerge the narrowest of winners.
R Murphy 0-11 (65 8fs), J Nolan 0-4, T Sheehan 0-2, R O’Neill 0-2, P Lynch 0-1.
K Loughlin 0-10 (9fs), C McKeogh 0-4, L Meyler 0-2, D Corrigan 0-2 (1f).
Oisin McNally; Gavin Murphy, Aodhan Kehoe, Mark Dundon; Seanie McMahon, Alan Wall, Ciaran O’Neill; Jack Foley, Peter Lynch; Colm Kavanagh, Ruarc O’Neill, Ruairi Murphy; Martin Carroll, Kyle Nolan, Jake Nolan. Subs: Andy Jordan for Carroll (h/t), Thomas Sheehan for Foley (h/t), Daniel Bolger for O’Neill (35), Joey Dalton for C O’Neill (53), James Brennan for Lynch.
Niall Brady; Aaron Flanagan, Darragh Kenny, Jack Murtagh; Conor Daly, Darragh Smith, Oisin McCauley; Neale Pearson, Cody Ward; Dylan Corrigan, Luke Meyler, Cormac McKeogh; Ryan Williams, Conor Leech, Kian Loughlin. Subs: Finn Higgins for Williams (26), Ben McNamee for Ward (35), Conor Heffernan for McCauley (51), Cian Fleming for Meyler (51), Eanna Kiernan for Daly (58).
Conor Dawson (Wexford)
