SUB Seán Reynolds punched home the winning goal deep in injury-time to give Louth victory in a Mullingar battle.
Reynolds pounced when a point attempt from fellow sub Daire McConnon dropped short, fisting the ball in from close range.
Louth boss Ger Brennan praised the impact of his bench, with subs Reynolds, McConnon and Tommy Durnin contributing 1-3 between them.
The ex-Dublin star said: “It’s an area we have been trying to improve on from last year.
“Two points on the board is great, but I thought a P45 was coming my way at stages of the second half!”
With Luke Loughlin leading the charge, Westmeath turned a 0-9 to 0-8 half-time decifit into a three-point lead by the 45th minute, prompting Brennan to turn to his bench.
New Westmeath boss Dermot McCabe said: “We put a huge effort in and were unlucky to get nothing out of it. Moral victories are no good.”
LOUTH: N McDonnell; D Corcoran, D Campbell, D McKenny; P Lynch 0-2, E Carolan, C Lennon 0-1; D McDonnell, C Grimes; A McDonnell 0-2, S Mulroy 0-5, 1 tpf, 2f, C Downey 0-2; C Keenan, K McArdle, R Burns 0-2, 1tp. Subs: T Durnin 0-1 for Grimes 45 mins; S Reynolds 1-0 for Downey 45; T McDonnell for Carolan 51; P Grimes-Murphy for Burns 58; D McConnon 0-2, 1f for Keenan 62.
WESTMEATH: C McCormack; J Gonoud, C Drumm, D Giles; E Gaffney, R Wallace 0-3, S McCartan; R Connellan, B Guerin; M Whittaker, F O’Hara, C Dillon; S Smith 0-1, L Loughlin 0-12, 2tp, 1tpf, 3f, R Forde 0-2, 1f. Subs: K O’Sullivan for O’Hara 24 mins; K Martin for Gaffney 51;, D McCartan for Forde 54; D Scahill for Giles 64; B Cooney for Smith 69.
REFEREE: B Tiernan (Dublin).
