Westmeath player ratings

Ger Egan in action against Jack McCaffery

Westmeath lost the Leinster final but how did their players rate?

DARREN QUINN: No chance with either goal but will, crucially, he lost the kickouts in the preamble to both - not his only restart issue.  Rating  6

KEVIN MAGUIRE: Even through Bernard Brogan tallied 1-1, his hounding shadow emerges in credit. Rating 7

FRANCIS BOYLE: Did reasonably well on recall, even venturing forward for a second half point, but struggled with injury late on. Rating 6

KILLIAN DALY: After his semi-final travails, a better final from the young rookie, keeping Dean Rock scoreless from play. Rating 6

DAVID LYNCH: Parachuted in as part of the 13-man blanket, he went too short with one skied point attempt. Replaced at the break. Rating 5

PAUL SHARRY: Westmeath's top performer, and possibly his finest 70 minutes in maroon. He kept showing and generally made good decisions in tight corners. Rating 8

JAMES DOLAN: Tackled with disciplined aggression and also bombed forward with intent on several occasions. Rating 7

PADDY HOLLOWAY: Switched to midfield, he battled manfully in exalted company before departing on 53 minutes. Rating 6

DENIS CORROON: Ranks among Westmeath's top-three performers, he won his share of kickouts and handled plenty of ball. Rating 7

GER EGAN: Sadly, the same cannot be said for Westmeath's skipper who was maybe trying too hard. Took wrong options and slashed two poor wides. Rating 5

RAY CONNELLAN: The youngster impressed en route to final but came up short here. Replaced on 52 minutes. Rating 5

JOHN GILLIGAN: Stepped up his Meath performance, his first half turnover at one end eventually led to a Kieran Martin point and later set up another for Boyle. Rating 6

KIERAN MARTIN: Less explosive than the last day, but carried the fight with two typically dynamic points as he veered between auxiliary back and more orthodox attacker. Rating 7

SHANE DEMPSEY: Showed well as the sole target man, he dropped one effort short but drew a foul off Jonny Cooper for a Heslin free. Half-time exit a tad harsh. Rating 6

JOHN HESLIN: Not his finest hour, though he went into the final with a heel injury. Hit 0-3 (0-1 from play) but also dropped four attempts into Stephen Cluxton. Rating 6

SUBS

KIERAN GAVIN: Caught a couple of balls on his introduction but otherwise no major impact. Rating 6

PAUL GREVILLE: Struggled to make the second half impact his manager would have craved. Rating 5

CALLUM McCORMACK: Back from one injury and then picked up another, lasting just 12 minutes. Rating 5

DENNIS GLENNON: Struggled to overturn a lost cause, one of his three shots was half-blocked, the other two veered wide. Rating 5

JOHN EGAN: Little chance.

JAMIE GONOUD: Ditto.