Meath 0-18
Westmeath 0-09
The drought continues. Hopes of collecting a provincial minor title, or at least reaching the decider, were dashed for yet another year by a well-tuned Meath outfit in Navan last Saturday. It was never going to be easy for Ger Heavin’s outfit to take on the reigning champions in their own backyard. Yet the manner of the defeat will have left all concerned bitterly disappointed.
On paper at least this Westmeath side were capable of causing an upset. Unfortunately too many of the team failed to do themselves justice on the day, when it counted most. Hopefully a number of them will go on to excel in the maroon and white at u21 and senior level. However the gap since winning our last bit of underage silverware continues to grow and that is something which must be a worry for all Westmeath Gaels.
Westmeath held their own for the first twenty five minutes, but once Meath grabbed the lead they never looked like relinquishing it. The Royals led 0-8 to 0-6 at the break.
Disaster struck for the travelling brigade in the second minute of the second half when talented midfielder John Heslin received his marching orders for a second yellow card offence. From then on there was only going to be one outcome.
Meath seized the initiative and exerted their control on the game and more importantly on the scoreboard. The home side outscored the Lake County 10 points to three in the second half, to send the travelling contingent home somewhat disillusioned. It’s back to the drawing board and the search for a winning underage formula continues.
Senior Football Round 2 round-up
Round two of the Westmeath senior football championship took place over last weekend. There were a few but no major upsets. The main talking points were Castledaly’s lucky escape against Bunbrosna, Mullingar Shamrocks’ annihilation of Killucan, St Loman’s eye-catching win over The Downs, Athlone’s defeat of Kinnegad and St Malachy’s good showing against Tyrrellspass.
Castledaly 0-10
Bunbrosna 0-09
The reigning county champions can thank their lucky stars that Bunbrosna left their shooting boots at home on Saturday evening last. Had they taken the chances presented to them they would now have two points in the bag.
Castledaly have so far failed to show the form that delivered to them their first ever senior county title last year. Yet it’s early days yet. They weren’t firing on all cylinders at this stage last year either.
‘The Bun’ could badly have done with a win, but given the number of regulars they are missing, they can take heart from this much -improved showing.
Castledaly will need to improve if they are to retain their title while Bunbrosna’s main target will be to avoid a relegation play-off.
Athlone 1-12
Corralstown/
Kinnegad 0-09
Having failed to emerge from the group stages in the past few seasons, Athlone took a major step forward in Moate last Sunday evening, with an important win over Corralstown/Kinnegad. They now have two wins in the bag. Richie Daly’s first half penalty save and Mickey Greene’s soccer-style goal early in the second half were decisive moments in this important win for ‘The Blues’.
With three more group games to go it’s too early to start counting chickens but both of these sides should emerge from the group.
Garrycastle 2-09
Maryland 1-05
This was a bit like the proverbial game of two halves. Maryland were more than a match for an out-of-sorts ‘Castle’ outfit in the opening half and enjoyed a 1-4 to 0-4 half-time lead. Garrycastle missed quite a few scoring opportunities in the opening 30 minutes, many from long distance. Dessie Dolan’s leadership up front was clearly missed. News on the injured county star is not very encouraging and he looks set to miss Westmeath’s championship opener against Wicklow due to a knee injury.
David Martin was in the right place at the right time to bag ‘The Underdogs’ only goal.
The second half belonged to Garrycastle who seized control with goals from Gary Dolan and Mark McCallon.
County supporters will have been pleased by David O Shaughnessy’s return to action, and he and Stephen O’Reilly formed an effective mid-field partnership.
Maryland will be no pushover in their remaining games while Anthony Cunningham’s men are sure to be in the shake-up in the business end of the championship.
Mullingar Shamrocks
1-15
Killucan 0-03
As the score-line suggests, this was a non-contest. Shamrocks simply blew Killucan away. A return of just three points over the hour for Killucan shows how far off the pace they were.
The Mullingar men however laid down a marker that they mean business this year. 1-15 is an impressive return, regardless of the opposition.
Tyrrellspass 1-13
St Malachy’s 0-11
Most punters expected this to be a cake-walk for the men from ‘The Tidy Village’ but St Malachy’s didn’t make things easy for them. The return to action of Martin Flanagan was the main talking point from this game and he helped himself to 1-2. Not surprisingly, Dennis Glennon also had a big say in the outcome of the game.
Malachy’s will still do well to avoid a relegation battle while Tyrrellspass, with a number of regulars still to return are sure to have a big say in the championship this year.
St Lomans 3-12
The Downs 2-08
St Loman’s had this game in the bag by half-time when they led by an incredible 14 points. While The Downs did put up a good fight in the second half they were chasing a lost cause by that stage.
This win will be a big confidence booster for an improving Lomans side. The Downs will have been hurt by the manner of this defeat and can only improve from here.
