Cribbin names starting xv for crucial louth showdown
Westmeath senior football manager Tom Cribbin has made four changes to the side which limped to defeat against Roscommon at the end of their ill-fated league campaign last month, as the Lake County prepares for a make-or-break meeting with Louth in the Leinster SFC this Sunday (Gaelic Grounds, Drogheda, 3.30pm).
David Lynch (St Malachy's), John Egan and John Connellan (both Athlone) drop out of the first XV, as does Garrycastle defender Mark McCallon, who has left the county setup due to work commitments.
Coming into the starting lineup are John Stapleton (Athlone), Mullingar Shamrocks midfielder Daragh Daly, Garrycastle's James Dolan and St Loman's, Mullingar forward Shane Dempsey.
Tyrrellspass's Darren Quinn continues in goal, while Ballymore's John Gilligan slots into McCallon's place at no. 2, with Kevin Maguire and ever-improving Mullingar Shamrocks defender Killian Daly making up the rest of the full back line.
In front of them will be the solid trio of Paddy Holloway, Kieran Martin and James Dolan, with the latter's making a welcome return to his wing back role after an injury lay-off.
Daragh Daly's return to midfield, meanwhile, gives the Lake County a bit of height where it counts, allowing marquee forward John Heslin to revert to his traditional full forward role after featuring at the centre of the park a number of times this year. Alongside Daly in the middle is captain Ger Egan.
Stapleton sits to the left of Athlone colleague Ray Connellan in the half forward line, with Paul Sharry (St Loman's, Mullingar) lining out on the opposite wing. Callum McCormack (Maryland), Heslin and Dempsey complete the line up.
Dempsey, Holloway, Killian Daly and Stapleton will be making their Leinster championship debuts.
The return of Heslin's scoring prowess in a maroon jersey, meanwhile, has been noted in the series of challenge matches played since the end of the league. The St Loman's man scored freely as Westmeath recorded comfortable wins against Leitrim and Offaly recently, notching up a combined score of 8-33 in those games.
However, Louth in the championship is a different story, with the Lake County having only won five of their eighteen championship meetings with the Wee County since the early 1900s.
The latest defeat came last summer, when Paul Bealin's troops exited Leinster with an insipid display at Cusack Park. A year later, Tom Cribbin – speaking to the Westmeath Examiner – said that his charges "owe it to the people of Westmeath" to put the hoodoo to rest in Drogheda.
The Clane man said that with Louth having suffered from over a dozen retirements and withdrawals – including the early retirement of marquee midfielder, Paddy Keenan – the Reds should not be as taxing for a team like Westmeath.
"Any team in the championship will be a tough nut to crack," Cribbin said. "They're after having a bad league campaign too, so they will feel the same as us – that they owe something to their supporters.
"But, I just feel they lost a lot of good, experienced players in the last year. I know we lost Dessie [Dolan], but that was probably expected at his age, where as Paddy Keenan is only around 30, and some of their lads had to emigrate because of work. They lost 15 or 16 players – probably not first team players, but senior players.
"So they're a very young team, and I think with the talent we have, we have to beat them."
The Westmeath team to face Louth:
1. Darren Quinn (Tyrrellspass). 2. John Gilligan (Ballymore). 3. Kevin Maguire (Caulry). 4. Killian Daly (Mullingar Shamrocks). 5. Paddy Holloway (Castledaly). 6. Kieran Martin (Maryland). 7. James Dolan (Garrycastle). 8. Daragh Daly (Mullingar Shamrocks). 9. Ger Egan (capt., Tyrrellspass). 10. Paul Sharry (St Loman's, Mullingar). 11. Ray Connellan (Athlone). 12. John Stapleton (Athlone). 13. Callum McCormack (Maryland). 14. John Heslin (St Loman's, Mullingar). 15. Shane Dempsey (St Loman's, Mullingar).