Westmeath capture All-Ireland U20 ‘B’ title after epic final
Westmeath 1-15, Monaghan 1-15 (after extra-time; Westmeath win 3-1 on penalty kicks)
It wasn’t to be for Monaghan but what a match as Westmeath’s U20 footballers edged out a fine Monaghan side after a titanic battle in glorious conditions at an atmospheric Kinspan Breffni Park in Cavan on Wednesday 21st May 2025, ultimately winning the Liam Connor Cup for the All-Ireland ‘B’ championship after a nerve-racking penalty shootout.
(Thanks to Fintan McTiernan for the fantastic album below. Click on the photo)
The mere fact that the sides were separated by just a point at half-time and were level at full-time in regulation play, in addition to parity at half-time and full-time in extra-time, says it all. Two well-coached and totally committed outfits were virtually inseparable.
Love them or hate them – and the general consensus would appear to strongly favour the latter viewpoint – penalty shootouts are now part and parcel of the GAA’s condensed programme, and it was the men in maroon and white who showed more composure to eke out a victory.
It finished 1-13 apiece at the end of normal time, 1-15 each after two periods of extra-time and penalties were required to separate the teams with Westmeath winning 3-1.
Commiserations to Monaghan on this occasion, but ye can hold your heads high on proudly representing you families, clubs & county. Huge thanks to Manager Paul, Ciaran, Pádraig, Joe & anyone else involved on their commitment & dedication over recent years.
Scorers – Monaghan: M Finn 0-6 (1 2ptf, 1f, 1‘45’), P Doogan Burke 1-0, M Carolan, S Callan, S O’Connell 0-2 each, J Wright, N Meehan, O McGorman 0-1 each. Scorers – Westmeath: S Corcoran 0-5 (1 2pt), F Duffy 1-2 (0-2f), R Murray 0-3 (1 2pt), J Duncan 0-2, K Connell, O Shortall, G Mullaniff 0-1 each.
Monaghan: Oran Finnegan; Cathal McCooey, Johnny Wright, Harvey Colleran; Niall Meehan, Martin Quinn, Andrew Stewart; Matthew Conlon, Eoghan McFarlane; Sean Callan, Packie Doogan Burke, Tom Doherty; Killian Kearns, Sean O’Connell, Matthew Finn. Subs used: Mark McCaffrey for Stewart (h-t), Oisín McGorman for Kearns (h-t), Shea Casey for Colleran (38), Conor Jones for Doherty (60), Andrew Stewart for Casey (e/t, h-t), Killian Kearns for O’Connell (e/t, h-t), Tom Doherty for Meehan (e/t, 17).
Westmeath: Luke Nicholson; Sean Dillon, Adam Keane, Seanaí Bracken; Aodhan Curran, Billy Moffatt, Gareth Mullaniff; Shane Ormsby, Tadhg Baker; Peter Murphy, Jack Duncan, Ronan Murray; Shane Corcoran, Keelan Connell, Finn Duffy. Subs used: Conor Callaghan for Moffatt (42), Ryan Kelly for Duffy (50), Tiarnán O’Donovan for Connell (56), Taylor Slevin for Curran (56), Oisín Shortall for Mullaniff (60+1), Matthew Thornton for Murray (e/t, 7), Keelan Connell for Callaghan (e/t, 19), Ronan Murray for Murphy (e/t, 20).
Ref: Pat Clarke (Cavan).
By Mary McEneaney Thu 29th May
