Ger Brennan's Louth side beat Westmeath to reach O'Byrne Shield final

Westmeath 0-12 Louth 2-12

As the murky January mist descended, plenty of positives glinted for Ger Brennan’s Louth side as they defeated Westmeath in Kinnegad to reach the Dioralyte O’Byrne Shield final.

After the doom and gloom the week before against Meath, the manner of performance and the return of some familiar faces made all the difference in the six point win.

Overall, thirteen of the players that started on the day, played in the reverse and memorable Leinster Championship match against the hosts last summer.

Ironically it was the two that played no part that really put their hand up for a big year ahead.

Ciarán Kiki Keenan has finally got a pre-season behind him and the county looks to finally benefit.

‘Kiki’ as he is known in Ardee was lively in close spaces and his movement saw him slip in for the game's decisive moment.

Within a mass of bodies, suddenly in true Keenan fashion was through one on one with goalkeeper Jason Daly, his shot was saved but rebounded home by the on rushing corner back Jack Smyth.

Back to the second man that put his hand up in the opening half specifically was Pats goalkeeper Martin McEneaney.

With manager Brennan confirming after the game that James Califf no longer opting to go with the county, McEneaney firmly put his hand up for the number 1 jersey for Armagh in the league in a fortnight's time.

A huge save at the back post at the tail end of the opening half in particular and some assured kick outs, McEneaney enjoyed his first start since last year's O’Byrne Cup final.

Those big moments were complimented by Louth’s greater work ethic and the influx of the experienced regulars allowed for more clarity on how Brennan wants his side to play.

Counter attacking with a greater emphasis on kicking in comparison to the last regime allowed Louth to lead 1-08 to 0-06 at half time.

That five point lead was deserved and already a burden for the home side to muster up the energy within the pre-season to overhaul. An early Ryan Burns goal wiped the appetite out further.

It was a fine finish by the Hunterstown man, after a marauding run by Conor Grimes down the centre and slipped in by Sam Mulroy, who is so good in those situations.

One slight blight on the afternoon was Louth’s indiscipline at the back in unneeded situations. Little pulls and mistimed tackles allowed Luke Loughlin and substitute Stephen Smyth to keep the scoreboard ticking, that could be more costly come national league time.

More proud debutants featured in the second half, Liam Flynn from Mattock Rangers nearly scored a goal with his first touch, Seán Reynolds made his long awaited bow.

Both under 20’s came in at the end of the game but showed enough to say they could start the final this Saturday against Wicklow.

And all the while St Kevin’s net minder Joshua Finlay was very composed when he came in at half time.

All that remained from the wholesome trip to the midlands was the clean bill of health and some hot air conditioning on the way home, what a difference a week makes.

LOUTH: Martin McEneaney; Dan Corcoran, Dermot Campbell, Oisin McGuinness; Leonard Grey, Anthony Williams, Craig Lennon 0-1; Conall McCaul, Tommy Durnin 0-2; Paul Mathews 0-1, Ciarán Keenan 1-0, Conor Grimes 0-1 (1m); Ryan Burns 1-0, Sam Mulroy 0-6 (5f), Ciarán Downey 0-1.

SUBS: Peter Lynch for Corcoran (h/t), Josh Finlay for McEneaney (h/t), Conor Clarke for McGuinness (47), Ciarán Murphy for Grey (66), Seán Reynolds for Burns (66), Liam Flynn for Downey (67), Kyle McElroy for Grimes (74).

WESTMEATH: Jason Daly; Jamie Gonoud, Kevin Maguire, Jack Smyth 0-1; James Dolan, Andy McCormack, David Lynch; Ray Connellan, Nigel Harte; Jonathan Lynam 0-1, Ronan O’Toole 0-1, Luke Loughlin 0-5 (3f); Lorcan Dolan, Senan Baker 0-1(1f), Conor Dillon 0-1.

SUBS: Eoin Mulvihill for Connellan (16), Kieran Martin for Baker (h/t), Stephen Smyth 0-2 (1f) for L Dolan (h/t), Matthew Whittaker for Dillon (47), Trevor Martin for Daly (53), Danny Scahill for J Smyth (53), Darragh Seery for J Dolan (62), David Giles for Maguire (63).

REF: Paddy McDermott (Kildare).