A 67th minute goal from Carlow substitute Martin Clowry was enough to finish this game as a contest and see the Barrowsiders crowned division 2A champions.
The win also secures for them promotion to division 1B. For Brian Hanley and his side it is hugely disappointing not to have secured promotion given that this had been their main goal for the year.
Neither side played to the potential which they had shown in earlier rounds of the league as nerves seemed to play their part. Westmeath opened the scoring through Darren McCormack but once Carlow edged ahead midway through the half Westmeath ended up chasing the game until the final whistle.
Carlow enjoyed a slender 0-6 to 0-4 half-time lead and maintained a minimum two-point lead throughout the second half. Paul Greville received his second yellow card on 57 minutes and when centre-back John Gilligan was shown a straight red seven minutes later, the odds swung firmly in Carlow’s favour.
Clowry then bagged the only goal of the game to seal matters for the Carlow men. While Brian Hanley will be disappointed that his side failed to gain promotion it has still been a hugely encouraging league campaign. All focus from here on will be firmly on the Leinster championship opener against Antrim in Mullingar on May 19.
