The televised draw for next year’s provincial championship which took place last Thursday was relatively kind to both Westmeath and Roscommon. Westmeath take on the winners of Wicklow and Carlow in a Leinster quarter-final. Louth, Longford or Kildare will provide the semi-final opposition should the Lake County win their opening game.
Not surprisingly Brendan Hackett and his players will be happy to have avoided the likes of Dublin and Meath who are on the other side of the draw. Westmeath, who are certainly in transition at present, will be keen to put 2009 behind them and this draw gives them every reason to look forward to 2010 with increased optimism.
Wicklow, with Micko back at the helm for another season, will be tipped to edge out Luke Dempsey’s Carlow. However with Tommy Walsh and Brendan Murphy now back on board, Dempsey’s charges will provide a stiff challenge.
Should Wicklow provide the quarter-final opposition they will be no pushover for Westmeath. In last season’s provincial quarter-final the Lake County were fortunate to scrape through after extra time. After that Wicklow went on to enjoy a good run in the qualifier including wins over Fermanagh, Cavan, and Down before losing out to Kildare. Westmeath’s season took a nosedive thereafter losing as they did heavily to both Dublin and Meath.
Based on last year’s form Wicklow would be confident of matching Westmeath. However, provided Brendan Hackett has a full hand to pick from, I would expect Westmeath to at least reach a Leinster semi-final. That does depend on having experienced players like John Keane and Dessie Dolan on board.
Kildare have made great strides forward under the guidance of Kieran McGeeney and his assistant Paul Grimley. They look certain to have too much firepower for either Louth or Longford.They are the most obvious danger to Dublin’s bid for six Leinster titles in a row. However it will be interesting to see how they react to the departure of Grimley who has relocated to Monaghan.
Westmeath would have to show dramatic improvement to overturn the Lily Whites. Yet in championship football anything is possible and as the players embark on a tough winter training campaign they have to believe that a place in a Leinster final is a real possibility.
Roscommon have been given even greater cause for optimism with a draw that makes a place in the Connacht final look well within their grasp. The Rossies take on London in their opening game. Presuming they don’t slip up there, Leitrim await in the semi-final. In last year’s championship Fergal O’Donnell’s men got the better of Leitrim and will fancy their chances of doing likewise in the coming season.
Galway and Mayo look destined to meet in the other semi-final and the winner of that would be the hottest of favourites to lift the trophy. Yet to contest a provincial championship final would be an invaluable boost to O’Donnell’s young guns.
From a players point of view a favourable championship draw is a great motivating factor particularly over the winter months when a lot of the hard work is done. It might even persuade a few who were contemplating retirement to reconsider.
Dublin Ladies too strong for Garrycastle
Ladies intermediate club Leinster final
St Brigid’s (Dublin ) 2-11
Garrycastle 1-04
Garrycastles ladies’ footballers were no match for a particularly strong St Brigid’s side in the provincial club decider played in Athy last weekend. While it’s never nice to lose a final, least of all a provincial decider, the Garrycastle ladies can be proud of the way they represented Westmeath in the provincial campaign. St Brigid’s, with three Dublin county players in their ranks, had too much experience for this young Garrycastle side.
No doubt all concerned will learn from the experience and come back stronger next year.
New York Marathon
With the Dublin marathon out of the way for another year, next up is the New York version. Athlone footballer Martin Keena and Clann na nGaels David Henry are taking on this 26.2 mile challenge to raise money to help in the fight against Sudden Adult Death Syndrome (SADS ). Both lads are keen to raise as much as possible for this very worthy cause so anyone who knows them is asked to give generously.
Martin explained that he has always enjoyed training. He feels that it’s very important to remain fit over the winter months and that doing this marathon will leave him in prime condition for next year’s championship bid with Athlone. I wish them both well.
