Carlow 1-20
Westmeath 1-14
Carlow proved too strong for a disappointing Westmeath side on Sunday afternoon as a youthful and experimental side got their first win in Division 2A of the Allianz National Hurling League.
Carlow got off to the perfect start with sharpshooter Conor McDonald scoring the first three points of the game to move Carlow into a lead that they would never relinquish.
Tom Mullally’s side continued their strong start as Fiachra Fitzpatrick and Jack Kavanagh opened their accounts on a cold afternoon in Netwatch Cullen Park as the home team led by 0-05 to 0-02 after ten minutes.
Westmeath responded by punishing Carlow’s ill-discipline with some well-taken frees but Carlow remained keen to bounce back from last weekend’s defeat at the hands of Down as McDonald and Fitzpatrick added to their tallies before John Doyle and Conor Kehoe got on the scoresheet to give the 2018 Joe McDonagh Cup champions a 0-09 to 0-05 advantage with five minutes remaining in a largely one-sided first half.
Star forward Chris Nolan finally came to the fore late in the first half with two excellent scores and his Mount Leinster Rangers teammate Kevin McDonald continued to widen the gap on the scoreboard between the two teams with another free.
Jon Michael Nolan and Diarmuid Byrne completed the first half scoring for the Barrowsiders as they deservedly took a six-point lead into half-time, Carlow 0-14 to 0-08 Westmeath.
Despite having a strong wind behind them, Westmeath could not take control of the game as their flat performance continued to dismay their animated management team.
Two McDonald frees helped maintain Carlow’s dominance early in an uneventful second half and all hope of a Westmeath comeback was gone when Brian Treacy and John Doyle points were followed up with the first goal of the game from McDonald.
Two classy Chris Nolan points put some more gloss on the scoreline for Carlow late on and a last-minute penalty that left Treacy with no chance was nothing more than a consolation for the visitors.
Carlow eventually ran out comfotable winners and in the process got their league campaign up and running.
