DUBLIN chief Niall Ó Ceallacháin was pleased his side got the better of Westmeath yesterday — but admits they still have work to do.
The Sky Blues claimed a seven-point win at Mullingar’s Cusack Park with Diarmaid Ó Dúlaing racking up nine points.
And the victory saw boss Ó Ceallacháin pick up his second win of his tenure as they eye promotion to Division 1A. He said: “The young lads are on a learning curve.
“But they are up to it. We want to have a high level of competition for starting places with others to come back in.
“The ball wasn’t always going to hand as much as we would have liked.
“You’ll pay for that against a good team on a pitch as tight as this.
“We have a good bit to work on.”
Dublin led by a point when Conal O’Riain buried the sliotar past Jack Gillen after ten minutes.
And when they led by five after a quarter of an hour, they looked set to secure a facile win.
But Westmeath rallied with five unanswered points and trailed by just three at the break as the Dubs kept the scores ticking over.
The third quarter was poor with only four points scored — as three went to the Metropolitans via Ó Dúlaing and Fergal Whitely.
David Williams was outstanding for the Lake County and his scoring kept them in touch.
The dismissal of O’Riain in the 52nd minute gave the hosts hope of producing a shock. And Ó Ceallachain said: “I didn’t see it. Conal doesn’t have that in him and I was surprised to see him come off.”
Gary Greville was later denied what would have been a spectacular goal by a fine Eddie Gibbons stop late on.
And that ended any hopes of a shock as Dublin wrapped up their win with three late points from David Purcell, Daire Gray and Whitely.
Westmeath boss Seoirse Bulfin saw positives from his team.
However, the Lake County remain pointless having lost to Antrim in their NHL opener.
Bulfin said: “It was a tremendous performance by the players after the disappointment of last Sunday in Antrim.
“Who knows, if we had taken a few more chances and their goalie hadn’t made a wonder save near the end, it could have been different.
“We fought back well when they looked to be pulling away.
“You’d have to be delighted the way the lads stuck at it.”
DUBLIN: E Gibbons; J Bellew, D Lucey, P Smyth; K Burke, C Crummey, D Gray 0-1; C Burke, D Ó Dúlaing 0-9, 7f; C Donohoe 0-1, C O’Riain 1-1, D Power 0-2; Dara Purcell 0-1, J Hetherton 0-1, F Whitely 0-3. Subs: David Purcell 0-2 for Hetherton 30 mins; B Hayes for Power 46; B Kenny 0-1 for Dara Purcell 59; P Dunleavy for Crummey 60; C Foley blood for Kenny 67.
WESTMEATH: J Gillen; C Gaffney, T Doyle, G Greville 0-1; J Bermingham, A Craig, E Keyes; P Clarke 0-1, S Williams; R Greville, D McCormack 0-1, M Cunningham 0-1; E Cunneen 0-3, 1 s-l; Niall Mitchell, David Williams 0-10, 4f, 1 65. Subs: R Keyes for R Greville 6 mins; D O’Reilly 0-1 for Mitchell 46; J Boyle for S Williams 48; D Glennon for R Keyes 61; N O’Brien for Cunneen 63; A Ennis blood for Doyle 67.
REFEREE: T Walsh (Waterford).
