Westmeath finish with a flourish to see off Treaty men

A superb second half performance saw Westmeath overcome top of Division 3 Limerick on a 1-12 to 1-06 scoreline at the TUS Gaelic Grounds.

Luke Loughlin put in an all action display to finish the game with 1-03, while John Heslin chipped in with 0-04 for John Cooney's side.

Limerick led 1-05 to 0-05 at the interval, but could only manage one further score in what was a below-par display.

Brian O’Donovan nearly raised a green flag for Limerick inside 60 seconds only to be denied by a smart Jason Daly save.

It was Westmeath that opened the scoring through Ronan Wallace, but Josh Ryan levelled the proceedings with an excellent point from play.

Loughlin put Westmeath ahead again on nine minutes only for Ryan to square things up with a long range point.

A Heslin free and a fine Sam McCartan score stretched that lead to two before a thunderous Adrian Enright goal saw Limerick 1-2 to 0-4 in front after 28 minutes.

Iain Corbett then put Limerick two to the good before Alex Gardiner stemmed the tide with a badly needed Westmeath response.

However, it was Limerick that went three clear thanks to a Ryan ’45 and a Hugh Bourke score from play.

A Loughlin mark reduced arrears early in the second half but Limerick should have went further ahead when Peter Nash swivelled and shot low only to hit the post.

That miss proved crucial as Loughlin fired Westmeath in front when he broke clear and rounded Donal O’Sullivan before finishing into an empty net.

Ryan bagged Limerick’s only point of the half on 54 minutes to reduce the lead to one but it was scant consolation as Westmeath ran riot in the final quarter.

Ronan O’Toole, McCartan, Heslin (2) and Loughlin all hit the target to fire Westmeath to a six-point victory.

Limerick: D O’Sullivan; J Liston, S