Leinster Football Championship Quarter Final
Wicklow v Westmeath
Tullamore – Sunday 6th June at 3.30pm
Referee: Michael Collins
An old rivalry will be renewed on Sunday when Wicklow set off on the Championship trail again looking to erase memories of the untidy defeat they suffered against Westmeath last year at the same stage of the competition. Luckily for Wicklow the man in the middle this year is not McQuillan from Cavan who turned in a horrendously poor performance last year which cost a wasteful Wicklow. No doubting the referee was not the only factor as Mick O’Dwyers men failed to turn their dominance into victory but his insistence on playing on and allowing Westmeath to score when Damien Power was clearly stricken with an injury which finally ended his inter county career.
Since that game both teams have endured mixed fortunes with Wicklow once again missing out on promotion but that was all forgotten following the first round demolition of Carlow and now the league is only a distant memory. Westmeath have endured a terrible year which seen them relegated from division two without a single victory. Manager Brendan Hackett fell to a player revolt and new man Pat Flanagan has been installed charged with bring back Westmeath stars Denis Glennon and veteran Dessie Dolan who opted off the panel earlier in the year. Westmeath’s only victory this year came against Kilkenny in the O’Byrne Shield which must be of great concern and one wonders if they will remember how to win. In fact they have now lost 14 league games in a row with their last win coming against Dublin in the 2008n league final and the only meaningful competitive game they have won in the last two years was against Wicklow which was followed up by drubbings against Dublin and Meath.
Wicklow will not get carried away following the victory over Carlow and while it was a good win Micko will know that a tougher test lies ahead in Westmeath. The loss of Pat McWalter to injury and Croke Parks insistence to give Westmeath the closest thing to a home venue they can will all provide obstacles for the Garden County. McWalter has been inspirational for Wicklow and his point on the restart in Portlaoise against Carlow when Wicklow faced into 35 minutes a man down was a huge boost for the team. Even in times of distress the St Pats clubman rallied the troops. McWalter was being stretchered from the pitch with a horrific injury but still pumped the air to rally his teammates and the loyal gaels that watched on from the stands.
All star nominee Ciaran Hyland will hope to be back for Wicklow following a back injury that ruled him out of the Carlow game. Stephen Canavan could get the nod at half back in place of the injured McWalter and Jacko Dalton should start in midfield at the expense of Don Jackman. Micko always keeps a surprise up his sleeve so trying to second guess is never straight forward! Dean Odlum may come under pressure in the corner forward position but he will come on from the 70 minutes in the opening round. Seanie Furlong would well be the key to unlock Westmeath. The Lake County conceded 5 goals in a recent challenge with Dublin and conceded 9 goals in division 2 this year (11 conceded in division 1 2009).
Wicklow have a date with destiny. Ever since the Championship draw, the path to a Leinster Final has been laid out with a score to settle at every junction. Carlow have been taken care of and now the Garden County must dig deep again.
While offering credit for Wicklow’s performance against Carlow, Westmeath manager Pat Flanagan is in bullish humour ahead of the match.
“Wicklow have stepped up a notch from last year,” he told the Westmeath Independent.
“Their pace (against Carlow) was quite high, their ball-work was very good, their movement was excellent and they put up a big score as well. They also have the advantage of having a championship match under their belt.
“They are going to be difficult to beat, there’s no two ways about it. Having said that, I expect Westmeath to go out on June 6 and give a good account of themselves and win the match because we also have some very good footballers.”
Note to fans – there will be no LIVE updates from the match on Sunday other than half time and full time. As the slogan says we are fans first and we will be in Tullamore to enjoy the game. We would encourage all supporters to get to Tullamore and support the County and for those who cannot the game is on the local radio.
Cill Mhantáin Abu.
