Minors knocked out of Leinster after falling to Laois

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Eight scores each, but the Westmeath goals ensured that Dublin would not be the name on the Leinster Minor Trophy this year.

A last minute change due to a waterlogged pitch saw the Jackies make their way to Ballinagore - a place not a thousand miles from Kilbeggan Race Course. In advance of the forecast rain, the wind whipped and swirled around the pitch when Ciaran Groome started proceedings just after 5pm. In fact the wind was so unsettled that Westmeath missed a 14m free from almost in front of the posts in the first few minutes and the game was 15 minutes old before any score was registered. That was a point in Dublin's favour. Dublin was down to 14 also at this time when the No6 was sin-binned for a rough tackle but the home side didn't make anything out of it. It was the Jackies who added a second score 5 minutes later but then girls from the Lake County levelled the board immediately afterwards with two fine scores of their own. The game sort of struggled along with the wind kind of in the visitors favour and the half finished with 5 points in Dublin's favour to the home side's 2.

Part Two started much as the first act had finished - scrappy. The Dubs went another point up after a few minutes and the kick out saw the ball carried up the pitch to finish with a shot at the Dublin Goal. There was a general tussle in and around the small square and a Westmeath toe got to it. It hit the upright andbounced back into play. It landed in the arms of a girl in blue who was on her knees from the previous scramble and the Ref judged it to be a foul. He called a penalty. There has been a lot of debate about that - a technical foul should be a 14m free kick - but the Ref saw a penalty and so it was. To be fair, the Dublin 'keeper stopped it first time but the rebound finished in the net. The game was level and Westmeath got the sniff of a victory. They went ahead moments later with another point. The game continued. It took another 10 minutes before the Dubs full forward got possession and planted the ball into the top right of the Westmeath net. The visitors were ahead again to the delight of the large support who had travelled down to the game. There was 4 minutes of ordinary time left on the clock. Westmeath were fired up at seeing their slender lead taken from them in the dying moments and planted a goal of their own on the 30th minute. It was all down to Injury Time. The kick out went wrong and the Lake County girls had another chance. It was buried in the netting. Behind again, the Dubs tried to get the ball up the park but their efforts were thwarted by a resilient Westmeath defence. The icing on the Westmeath cake came with a point on the final whistle and Dublin were left to ponder on how near they came to another crack at the Leinster Trophy.


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