A last minute point from substitute Stefan White gave Louth a somewhat lucky victory over Westmeath in this closely fought O'Byrne Cup game at Cusack Park, Mullingar yesterday.

Louth raced into an early 0-5 to 0-0 lead, but Westmeath got right back into contention, Ger Heavin notching up their first point in the 19th minute. Five minutes later they had a goal, when centre forward Kenny Lyons was at the end of a fine five man move, booting the ball to the net from close range.

At the break Louth held a slender 0-7 to 1-3 lead, and within four minutes of the resumption, Westmeath took the lead for the first time with points from Rory O'Connell and Heavin.

Westmeath maintained their narrow advantage until Louth's master free taker, Patrick Butterly equalised with a point.

Three minutes later, White, a 53rd minute substitute, kicked over the winning score from 40 metres.