Hurling boost evident as minors face Carlow
Damien Maher
Westmeath hurling has received a definite boost following fine performances by the county’s minor and U20 sides over the weekend.
The minor team proved much superior to Down when they met at Darver, Louth in Saturday’s Leinster Minor Hurling Championship, and they face Carlow today (Friday) at TEG Cusack Park in a pre-preliminary quarter-final.
Conor Heffernan, Caolan Ready and Ben McNamee grabbed the Westmeath goals in a 3-14 to 0-9 victory and Clarke’s charges.
“The couple of early scores in the second half gave us the platform for a good all-round second half display. We really had them on the ropes for the first five minutes of the second half. There was good ball going into the forward line, and to be fair to the boys inside they were collecting it and causing a lot of trouble. We had 1-3 scored very quickly. It was a super start,” observed manager Pat Clarke.
He is joined on the management team by John Shaw, Andrew Mitchell and Tony O’Keeffe, who bring plenty of experience and knowledge to the table. Friday’s clash is a knockout game and the teams will play to a finish on the day.
Meanwhile, at Glenisk O’Connor Park, Tullamore last Saturday, Westmeath's U20 hurling side provided a strong test for a fancied Offaly outfit. Although losing by eight points in the finish, Andrew Dermody’s U20 side dominated the second half, outscoring the home side by 1-8 to 0-4 in the final 28 minutes. Midfielder Mark Cunningham grabbed the Westmeath goal and Offaly had to scramble to prevent the concession of another.
“We had five goal chances and took over totally for a period in the second half. It was very encouraging. There is serious potential in this team and they played with no fear of Offaly, who had five of the side who contested last year’s all-Ireland minor final. There are a lot of positives from our perspective,” said Dermody after the game.
Westmeath face Antrim this Saturday at TEG Cusack Park in the second round and they will aim to build on a fine display.
“There are a lot of positives from this game and plenty for us to work on ahead of the next round against Antrim,” said Dermody.
Meanwhile, the Westmeath minor side under the guidance of Pat Clarke, along with John Shaw, Andrew Mitchell and Tony O’Keeffe, continued their fine form with an emphatic victory over Down in miserable conditions at Darver.
The positive weekend follows the Westmeath senior side’s victory over Laois to consolidate their place in hurling’s Division one for next year.