First Half
There was good work from the Waterford forwards in working the ball up the park, but Mikey Kearney’s shot on goal was the only real threat on goal for the first half.
That net bulging shot provided the impetus that Waterford needed and gave them a foothold in the game that they had been missing early on.
Westmeath struggled with balls not going to hand and needing more than one attempt to get the ball off the ground, but with that taken into account, they did look dangerous at times and created problems for the Waterford defence.
Despite Westmeath making threatening runs on goal, the Deise half-back line stood tall with both Iarlaith Daly and Shane Fives rising high to catch balls which could have easily offered goal-scoring threats to the visiting side.
Conditions weren’t fantastic and while the rain has eased off in the first half the ball was greasy and the going underfoot was slippery.
DJ Foran, Patrick Curran, Peter Hogan, and Seamus Keating all registered on the scoreboard.
Curran performed well in Stephen Bennett’s free-taking role with just the one wide in the opening half – Pauric Mahony will have been watching on from home with great interest.
By the time the first half whistle had been blown, there was six points in it, but the scoreboard wasn’t truly telling the story of the game.
Peter Hogan kept the Westmeath midfield on their toes throughout and Kieran Power - with his cousin Seamus tearing it up in Texas – was busy tearing it up himself in Walsh Park.
Westmeath were very much in the game, while their wides were killing them.
Nine shots at the posts had missed the target, albeit Killian Doyle had kept the Scallion Eaters within touching distance.
The score at half time Waterford 1-12 - Westmeath 0-9
16 May 2021; Patrick Curran of Waterford in action against Aonghus Clarke of Westmeath during the Allianz Hurling League Division 1 Group A Round 2 match between Waterford and Westmeath at Walsh Park in Waterford. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile
Second Half
Westmeath left the dressing rooms with their tempo significantly risen and the bit of sunshine that had poked through during the first half was now gone and the dark clouds began to gather once again, with rain starting to spit down.
Five minutes into the second half, Jack Fagan was shown his second yellow of the day and subsequently a red, which saw him make his way to the sideline.
Westmeath responded to that extra space on the field with back-to-back points through Davy Glennon and Killian Doyle.
With the rain starting to fall properly on the 46-minute mark, the game started to dissolve somewhat. The referee's whistle was being heard far more often, and while he was fair to both sides it was worrying how often the official had become part of the game.
The flow of play was constantly disrupted and neither team could build a passage of play without interference but its important to point out that conditions were not conducive to free-flowing hurling.
With all the frees that had been offered up, Waterford notched their tenth wide of the game by the 48th minute, and thankfully for Liam Cahill, Westmeath had started to fade a bit by the 50th minute of play – but that wasn’t to be the end of the affair.
The home side held a seven-point lead going into the second-half water break (1-18 v 0-14)
Killian Doyle, as he did in the first half, kept his team in the game with his free taking.
The numbers on the field were leveled approaching the last ten minutes.
Peter Hogan took a hit to the head from the Westmeath captain Cormac Boyle, which earned him a red card. The second one of the game.
One would expect the flow of the game to move towards Waterford at that point, but Killian Doyle had different plans.
Westmeath were given a free with five minutes to go and Doyle hit a daisy-cutter into the net with five Waterford men filling the goalmouth. With less than five minutes of normal time to play, it was a two-point game, 1-19 to 1-17.
The Deise were lucky to have Kevin Moran available on the bench who came on and settled the side who were dealing with a Westmeath onslaught. He stood up and added to the tally, sending one over the black spot. Moran was involved in a lot of the elements of Waterford’s positive play for the time that he was on the field.
The referee wasn’t finished with the game though, a third red card of the game and a second for Waterford was dished out when Darragh Lyons put in a heavy challenge on Angus Clarke. At first glance (and even second glance) it seemed like a fair challenge. A heavy challenge, but fair.
16 May 2021; Referee Cathal McAllister shows a red card to Darragh Lyons of Waterford during the Allianz Hurling League Division 1 Group A Round 2 match between Waterford and Westmeath at Walsh Park in Waterford. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile
The full-time score from Walsh Park 1-22 to 1-17 for the home side.
Take Away’s From the Game
The refereeing was consistent on the day, but overall the refereeing approach is not consistent from game to game.
Westmeath were still in the game with minutes to go which will displease Liam Cahill, but he has gotten a look at his whole panel after two games.
The All-Ireland Champions come to town next weekend and Cahill, Bevans, and Queally will have a lot to think about ahead of throw-in with the side who prevented them from lifting Liam McCarthy last December.
