Damien Gavin looking forward to Leinster U20 championship

Gerry Buckley

After the holders Westmeath bowed out to Armagh in the race for the 2023 Philly McGuinness Cup in Kinnegad last Saturday afternoon, losing manager Damien Gavin still felt that his troops’ three games in the competition had been very worthwhile.

Westmeath will now focus on the upcoming Leinster U20 Championship on Tuesday week.

The 1995 All-Ireland winning minor captain stated: “We needed to win today to stay in contention, but the two poor goals we conceded in the first half were the difference. We knew coming into today the type of defensive football they (Armagh) play. What was disappointing was we never really threatened to create a goal chance. They were hard to break down, but we learned an awful lot the last couple of years playing the northern teams.”

He continued: “Over the three games, I think we played 27 or 28 lads which is what this league is about. While we want to win every game including today, the championship starts on Tuesday (March 21) away to Kildare. It was great to win this last year, but did it make a difference in the Leinster championship? Maybe not. We know where we stand now as regards the panel.”

The St Mary’s, Rochfortbridge man remained upbeat about a good championship run. “Today we were missing the two senior lads, Senan Baker and Danny Scahill, as well as Ben Killian (hand injury) and Sean Leech (hamstring) who are injured. Ben should be back for the Kildare game, but it looks like Sean will miss a few games. You can never rule anything out with young lads, but he’d be a massive loss. We have a lot of talented footballers in the squad and we are looking forward to that first round. We have Wexford at home in the second game and I think they are in the final of their league, so they are obviously going well. We have to win at least one of those games.”