Speaking to nobody in particular just before the post match press conference at Páirc Tailteann, Mickey Harte smiled and exclaimed: “Living on the edge!”
The Louth manager probably didn’t need to say a whole lot more because it neatly summed up the chaos of the afternoon.
Favourites beforehand, eight points down at half-time, two points up at full-time. Ultimately a first Leinster quarter-final victory in 13 years for Louth and a return to Croke Park next Sunday to face Offaly.
READ MORE: Offaly march on as Meath knocked out of Championship and into Tailteann Cup
Even Harte conceded Louth were merely playing for pride and to restore some ‘honour’ after slipping 0-4 to 1-9 behind at half-time.
He said: “Westmeath got their goal before half-time and in many ways it was probably the worst thing to happen to them. Without that goal they still would have been in a strong position and probably would have been more reflective on how they needed to play in the second-half and maybe we wouldn’t have had this real desire to come out and get some sort of credibility out of the game because, at that stage, at half-time, that was kind of what it was about for us, we were playing for honour as much as anything.
“So they restored the pride in the jersey in that second-half and then they got the bonus of winning.”
A point up after the opening quarter, Westmeath then tagged on five points in a row from John Heslin, Ray Connellan, Senan Baker and Luke Loughlin to open up a 0-8 to 0-2 lead.
Ronan O’Toole snatched a terrific stoppage time goal after a neat one-two with Ronan Wallace and suddenly Westmeath led by 1-9 to 0-4.
Harte said he was cool and calm at half-time and merely showed his players ‘evidence’ of how they’d been inefficient in an attacking sense and poor defensively.
It did the trick because Louth returned a different team.
Mulroy and Grimes sniped points before Donal McKenny fisted one over. Then Mulroy hit the net from a 48th minute penalty.
Just three points separated the teams and that was wiped out by Jackson’s 55th minute goal which was cleverly set up by Mulroy.
The sides were still level as late as the 70th minute but stoppage time scores from Early and Mulroy sealed Louth’s win.
Westmeath have a free pass to the All-Ireland series for winning last year’s Tailteann Cup.
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