Maryland 3-09
St Loman’s 0-16
Round two of the Westmeath Senior Football Championship passed off without any major incident or excitement last weekend. The new rules which caused such controversy at inter-county level didn’t seem to cause any such problems on the local scene. Once common sense is used, by both players and referees, I can’t see why the hand-pass rule should cause any controversy. A clear strike with a closed fist or open hand should be fairly easy to execute and indeed to spot. In my opinion if a referee is unsure, he should err on the side of letting play continue.
From a player’s point of view I don’t buy into the argument that it is too late in the season to be introducing new rules. There is nothing revolutionary in the hand-pass rule (the sideline rule and closer penalty have not been an issue ). Players should be capable of adapting fairly quickly, particularly when the only change is that the overhand pass is now forbidden. With that said it will be interesting to see how things unfold in the coming weeks.
Maryland’s three second-half goals gave them a somewhat unexpected win against last year’s beaten finalists. Finbar Egan’s men looked in trouble when they trailed by five points at the break, 0-9 to 0-4.
However in what is the hallmark of any good team, they continued to work hard and make things happen for themselves. They clawed their way back to level terms 0-10 to 1-7, the goal coming from the boot of the impressive Joe Harte.
The Saints, having lost their opening round to Kinnegad, desperately needed a win and responded in kind by again gaining control and carving a three point cushion. A second goal brought Maryland back on level terms with five minutes remaining.
With the game in the melting pot it was Loman’s who again looked the most likely winners when Jonathan Plunkett put them a point to the good. The underdogs refused to read the script however and when the Mullingar defence failed to deal with a lineball, Joe Harte was on hand to fire home the winner.
In doing so he secured maximum points for the Drumraney men after their opening two outings and put them firmly in the driving seat to emerge from the group. St Loman’s however will feel this is a game they should have won. They played very well in patches and 16 points would win most championship matches. Yet any day you concede three second-half goals you are bound to be in trouble. If they can shore up their defence, Wally Burke’s men could still make the play-offs.
Athlone v Tubberclare
Athlone 1-9
Tubberclare 0-8
Athlone have made it two wins out of two thanks to our four point win over Tubberclare. The main talking point however was Gary Connaughton’s forced withdrawal due to a calf injury during the first half. The inspirational goalie now faces a race against time to be fit for Westmeath’s Leinster quarter-final clash with Wicklow on June 6.
Indeed his loss along with the absence of Fergal Wilson, who suffered a broken finger in a recent challenge against Clare, proved too much for Tom Lennon’s men to handle. While Athlone held a comfortable 1-6 to 0-3 halftime lead, Tubberclare enjoyed the better of the second half exchanges. Unfortunately from their point of view they squandered many scoring chances and also had to contend with an in form Darren Costelloe in the Athlone goal.
John Connellan with 1-5 and John Egan with 0-3 to their names were Athlone’s scorers in chief, while Ian Coffey was Tubberclare’s top scorer with 0-5.
Tubberclare now face an uphill battle to acquire points to keep them safe. The seven week break may yet prove a blessing as it provides valuable time for their many injuries to clear up. With a full hand to pick from they can hold onto their hard-fought senior status.
Malachly Gately’s men are, not surprisingly, pleased to have won our opening two games. Yet we are also aware that last year we managed to do likewise, yet failed to emerge from our group. We will be hoping to have learned from last year’s mistakes and to push on from here.
Next up for Athlone is a mouth-watering clash with the in-form Maryland on the weekend of July 17. Both sides will no doubt be eagerly awaiting this top of the table clash which should draw a huge crowd.
Garrycastle v The Downs
Garrycastle 2-12
The Downs 1-07
Despite trailing 1-4 to 0-4 at the interval, Garrycastle seized control of proceedings in the second period before eventually running out eight point winners. Despite a somewhat subdued opening half performance, Anthony Cunningham and his backroom team will be pleased with what they saw in the second half. Alan ‘Rocky’ Daly weighed in with 1-4 while John Shaughnessy, James Dolan, the recently returned Rory McGowan, and the re-juvenated Paddy Mulvihill were very much to the fore in making it two wins out of two for the Green and Reds.
Killucan v Corralstown/Kinnegad
Killucan 2-8
Corralstown/Kinnegad 0-7
Killucan caused something of an upset last weekend. It may not be the biggest of surprises that they won but that they did so by double scores could not have been predicted. Killucan were unlucky in their opening encounter against Tubberclare but made no mistake on this occasion, with Paul Greville in particularly fine form.
For Kinnegad this marks their second straight defeat, and while three games remain, Colm Coyle will be looking for a big improvement from his charges.
Mullingar Shamrocks v Tyrrellspass
Mullingar Shamrocks 2-11
Tyrrellspass 3-05
Mullingar Shamrocks, having been less than impressive in their opening round win over St Malachy’s, put in a much more polished display in their second outing agaist Tyrrellspass. Tyrrellspass remain pointless but can still be expected to make a bold bid when action resumes in seven weeks. Shamrocks will be happy with their return of 2-11 and on this form are bound to play a big part in the fight for this year’s Flanagan Cup.
Castledaly v St Malachy’s
Castledaly 2-8
St Malachy’s 1-5
Castledaly had too much firepower for a somewhat toothless St Malachy’s side in this Monday evening clash. Why championship games are played on a Monday evening I’m not too sure. it seems crazy when many players have to travel long journeys from work. It’s not the sort of economic climate when players who are lucky enough to have jobs would like to have to ask an employer to let him off early to head home to play a game.
Regardless of what day their next game is played St Malachy’s will need to improve their prowess in front of goal if they are to claim their first win. Despite battling hard they never looked likely to cause an upset.
Castledaly will be happy with their opening two outings and will look to press on from here when the championship resumes.
Intermediate round-up
Bunbrosna again underlined their credentials with an impressive 1-11 to 1-5 win over Kilbeggan. Caulry gained a valuable one point win over Shandonagh while Tang had nine points to spare over Rosemount. Castletown/F/C/W had a comfortable 2-9 to 0-6 win over Ballinagore.
Minor Footballers in action against Longford
Westmeath’s min or footballers are in action this weekend against near neighbours Longford. The game will take place in Cusack Park on Saturday May 22 at 3pm, and the prize on offer is a place in the Leinster semi-final. Ger Heavin’s men have a number of injury concerns ahead of the game but, with home advantage always a help, I expect them to have too much strength for the Longford men.
Senior hurlers
Having lost out to Kerry last weekend Westmeath now take on Down this Saturday May 22 in Navan at 1pm in the Christy Ring Cup quarter-final. Kevin Martin will be looking for an improved performance from his side as they head into this tricky encounter.
Meanwhile our minor hurlers lost out by two late points to Offaly in the Leinster quarter-final last weekend. The Westmeath men enjoyed the better of the opening-half exchanges and held a three-point half-time lead but Offaly were a different side in the second half and two late Stephen Quirke points sent them on their way.
