Derry extend summer as they resist Westmeath comeback

Derry needed a 65th-minute goal from Emmett Bradley to edge past Westmeath in ideal conditions for football in Newry, the Division 1 football champions scraping into the All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final after suffering three successive defeats in earlier matches.

In the final quarter, as Westmeath closed within a point, it looked like Mickey Harte's charges could make an early exit from the championship, but they showed their steel to proceed to Monday's draw live on RTÉ's Morning Ireland.

Conor Glass opened the scoring with a converted '45' in the third minute, but the very lively Ronan O’Toole equalised some three minutes later at the end of a fine move by the underdogs.

Sam McCartan was wide from a Westmeath ‘45’, but O’Toole doubled his tally after a superb catch by Ray Connellan to nudge the Division 3 champions ahead in the 11th minute.

Derry, who had coughed up some soft goals in earlier matches, were almost caught out again on the quarter-hour mark, but Westmeath defender and captain Kevin Maguire was dispossessed at the crucial moment.

Lachlann Murray levelled the contest in the 18th minute, but impressive corner-back Jamie Gonoud quickly nudged Dessie Dolan’s men ahead by 0-03 to 0-02.

Eunan Mulholland and O’Toole (completing his hat-trick) exchanged points, as did Shane McGuigan (a close-range free) and Connellan at the end of a patient move.

However, defender Conor McCluskey, who had been very prominent from the start, scored a great goal in the 33rd minute, and Mulholland added a point in added-time, to leave Mickey Harte’s troops ahead by 1-05 to 0-05 at the interval.

Both sides added just a point apiece to their tallies in the opening ten minutes of the second half. James Dolan scored a terrific point for