Carlow earn right to play in the sunshine

Here's the deal: a few weeks beyond daylight saving hours, winter mud still clinging to the boots, and only one chance to reach for the stars. Lose and it's the end of the championship as you know it.

And so begins a long hot summer for Westmeath. Yesterday's loss in Carlow has drowned any hopes of a season of Sundays before most others have even turned the page in the diary. No time to think about those warmer days, and not much to look back on except another year on the clock.

While most counties are still concerned about their league placings, the Leinster hurling championship slowly and unceremoniously crawled out of the blocks - not as the round-robin competition that suspends fate for a little while at least, but instead as a straight knock-out. Foot-and-mouth had a word in this too.

It did feel a bit like summer approaching Dr Cullen Park, until people started getting out of their cars. The spring breeze still had a winter chill and it was only a matter of time before the dark clouds on the hills had their say.

A couple of flag sellers outside the ground tried to create a championship atmosphere. Inside, that quickly disappeared where a football league game provided the curtain-raiser.

But atmosphere or not, this was the game to decide who would play Laois in a fortnight. The winners there need one more roll of the dice in order to play Dublin in the championship "proper" on May 20th.

It was not the kind of game for someone with a short attention span. At times a dog was heard barking on the terrace, but if consistency counts for anything, Carlow were deserving winners. From the start they displayed the greatest desire for another day in the sun, gradually building a lead that proved insurmountable.

Manager Michael Walsh joined Carlow only shortly before the league (which they had to abandon), and he wasn't confident about his chances.

"Westmeath have had a lot more matches in recent weeks," he said. "But we had still worked fierce hard. I just wanted them to play a direct style of hurling and that's something they are starting to do. There is plenty of talent there.

"We were under huge pressure, and of course it was so, so important that we won this game. But I did sense that things were coming together last week. That attitude was good, and when you have that then you won't be too far away. So I am delighted they won and I'm proud of the performance."

Opposing manager Michael Cosgrove now has plenty of time to plan the summer holidays, but he can't have too much to complain about as the attacking strategy of Westmeath was more or less non-existent.

Andrew Mitchell, playing at wing forward, had singlehandedly filled their scoresheet with his free-taking until Noel Gavin scored their first of only three points from play. And that was 24 minutes into the second half.

By then, Carlow had strung together enough chances to build their winning margin. Johnny Kavanagh popped in the first goal after a quarter hour, while Damien Roberts and the ever-reliable Des Murphy added two of the more majestic points.

Approaching the break, and just as the new time-keeper held up his injury-time board for the first time (though not everyone seemed to know what it meant), Kavanagh's free extended the lead to six points - 1-8 to 0-5.

Even then, Carlow would have had to self-destruct to throw the game away. No one needed reminding that Carlow hurlers very often self-destruct. But no, Murphy quickly hit over two sweet points in the next two minutes, and not long after Thomas Walsh sent a long-range ball from Roberts into the net. It was the end of the road for Westmeath.

Still they searched for the goals that might yet breathe some life into their summer, and referee John Sexton seemed to give a bit of help. Thomas Doyle, Brian Murphy and company in the Carlow defence would not be rattled and held firm, confidently stemming any charge on Pat Fenlon's goal. Only once did he have to produce some heroics.

Another show of the injurytime clock and that was it. Carlow go on to meet Laois and, no more than yesterday, they won't be expected to win that either. Those Westmeath flag sellers go on to other counties and into the car-sticker business: "Westmeath died for our sins."

CARLOW: P Fenlon; E Coady, T Doyle, P Keogh; A Gaule, M Farrell (0-1, a free), B Murphy; J Hickey (0-1), J Nevin; M Slye, D Murphy (0-4), D Roberts (0-1); B Lawlor, T Walsh (1-3), J Kavanagh (1-3, three frees). Subs: J Byrne for Lawlor (47 mins).

WESTMEATH: D Conaty; M Williams, B Murtagh, O Devine; J Brennan, D McCormack, N Gavin (0-1); P Williams, B Williams (0-1); A Mitchell (0-11, 10 frees, one sideline), V Bateman, J Shaw; B Kennedy (0-1), J Gavigan, K Gorry. Subs: S McLoughlin for Gorry (40 mins), A Mangan for Gavigan (45 mins), A Devine for P Williams (58 mins), P Clarke for Bateman (60 mins), G Gavin for A Devine (70 mins).

Referee: J Sexton (Limerick).