Having followed a humbling Ulster quarter-final loss to Donegal with defeats by Galway and Armagh, there was intense scrutiny on Mickey Harte’s Derry as they bid to save their season.
That bid was hindered by the absence of some key men, including Gareth McKinless, Padraig McGrogan, Conor Doherty and Niall Toner.
But while they were unable to produce a major statement at Pairc Esler, the National League champions showed character to carve out the required result after an uncomfortable second-half period in which Westmeath looked capable of pulling off a stunning win.
Much of the scrutiny on Derry has centred on their shape and set-up after shipping nine goals in the defeats by Donegal, Galway and Armagh, all of whom exposed frailties in the Oak Leaf ranks with quick counter-attacks.
There were a couple of early warning signs here, too, with Odhran Lynch keeping out James Dolan’s goal-bound shot after he had eluded the Derry to latch on to Jamie Gonoud’s pass over the top.
Derry also had a sniff of an early goal chance but Brendan Rogers was unable to bundle the ball home from close range after Shane McGuigan’s effort came back off the post.
And while the impressive Ronan O’Toole caused havoc in the Derry defence with three scores from play during the first half, the Ulster side gradually improved in the first half before McCluskey’s 32nd-minute goal.
It was beautifully worked, too, with Diarmuid Baker and Donncha Gilmore cutting the Westmeath defence open before McCluskey smashed his shot past Jason Daly to score Derry’s first championship goal since last year’s All-Ireland semi-final defeat by Kerry.
That green flag was swiftly followed by Eunan Mulholland’s second score from play, handing Derry a three-point cushion at the break.
