U20 footballers give Westmeath a welcome boost as Royals await

Westmeath’s victory over Offaly in last Wednesday night’s Leinster U20 Championship game provided a timely boost after a spring of discontent.

The senior footballers failed to win a game, while the senior hurlers managed to overcome Carlow in their final outing of the campaign. The league campaigns also proved tough going for the ladies football and camogie teams.

The U20 footballers were aiming to buck the trend and did so in fine style against Offaly. Manager Kenny McKinley was naturally pleased with the outcome and Westmeath are now preparing to face Meath in Kinnegad tonight (Wednesday), throw-in 7.30pm.

Unsurprisingly, Westmeath have named an unchanged team for the clash with Meath - see team list below.

Speaking after the win over Offaly, McKinley said: “Our defence I thought was excellent. Guys that were given jobs to do, specific jobs that they did massively well. We were probably struggling for a few scores during the year and I thought our forwards really stepped up and started pinging them. Finn Duffy hit a couple of crackers; we were worried coming into the game about where our two-pointers would come from, but Finn found the boots tonight. At the end of the day, it didn't matter whether it was 10 points or one point, the goal was to get down here, get a win and get ourselves going into the second round in pole position,” he remarked.

It was the ideal start, but McKinley is aware it will still be a considerable challenge to qualify from a competitive group.

“We've just got to keep working on our game because it's going to get harder, defences are going to get tighter. Meath have beaten Dublin, so it's all to play for and it will open it all up for whoever wins. It will potentially come down to the last game,” he said.

McKinley agreed his side endured a ropey start, but the spine of the team was strong, with the midfield partnership of Shane Ormsby and Tadhg Baker giving Westmeath the edge in a key sector.

“The two lads provided that midfield partnership last year and they have a really good understanding, serious ball winners, and we have a good combination there. The lads (around them) know what their job is. Billy Moffatt knows what he's doing there in the middle, he's in the engine room. Keelan Connell also; they know the job they have to do and the lads did that. No one went off on a solo effort. They played it as a team and they played as we asked them to play,” he observed.

McKinley is wise enough to know that the performance wasn’t perfect and Westmeath will need to step up another level for games against Meath and Dublin.

“Offaly had control of the first ten minutes and I was very happy that we took back control. Instead of rushing shots, we just calmed down a little, went back, crossed the lines a couple of times and took the sting out of the game. That's a little bit of game management and I was very happy with the lads doing it,” he said.

Better execution and a more ruthless streak in front of goal will certainly be required and the new playing rules make for a very different challenge. The solo and go and two-pointers are major changes.

“The two-pointers are a killer; you can be so far ahead - and we talked about it at half-time - if you look at any of the National League games, they've all been nearly games of two halves. You can see there last week with Westmeath's senior team and how well the lads did to come back to draw (against Roscommon) when, 20 minutes in the game, you're wondering, is this over? Two-pointers can just drag you back into it.

“In years gone by, with an eight-point lead, you can go, 'we can shut up shop here'. Not now; that's the way it is. Three two-pointers and the next minute, you're only two points in front and you're getting all nervous.”

Westmeath’s work-rate was eye catching and the energy levels were impressive, especially in the second half when Offaly threatened a comeback.

“We said it a thousand times and I used to preach it - the last ten minutes will come down to guys just running. Guys putting in hard yards, game plans usually go out the window. We have that in spades and everyone that we brought in was ready to work and ready to make the hard runs; that's what they did. Then when we made the tackles, we got the space and the lads were able to attack that.

“Ryan Kelly, Shane Corcoran, Finn Duffy, Kealan Connell all ran at them. Kealan ran direct and it leads to space, to frees, to opportunities to try and kill the game,” said the manager

“I thought in the first five minutes we were a bit panicky. We gave away a lot of balls before Peter Murphy fisted that goal. It was relief and once we got that, all of a sudden the guys started to calm down a little and got their shots off in the right areas,” observed McKinley.

The former St Loman’s footballer brings with him an impressive backroom team that he hopes can inspire future senior footballers.

“There’s Ronan Kiernan, St Paul's: I played football in college with him and he’s a good man with his club. I have Tommy Cleary, a Westmeath stalwart; I had him at St Malachy’s. Mick Dillon's been around a long time with the senior team, bringing a wealth of knowledge from it. Gary Connaughton is with us. We have Annette Bennett working tirelessly in the background, getting us the pitches, getting everything we need. Ashley Cahill is doing the stats for us,” he explained.

“We have a good combination, everyone brings their own little unique piece to it, their own unique characteristics. It's good, we gelled pretty quickly and you kind of have to with the timeline. It’s all going well.”

McKinley experienced himself with the Westmeath minor side of ‘95, how important it is to get the support of all the clubs in the county. There were ten clubs represented on the starting team against Offaly.

“It’s a good spread, we've got good numbers coming out of south Westmeath clubs. Tubberclair have produced two good minor teams in recent years and that's fed into it. We've got a good spread of players; four or five coming from the Coláiste Mhuire team that won Leinster. They are probably just sitting one off the starting 15, but they're going to bring that experience,” he remarked.

“We've a good mixture, a good group. You have to bring a panel of 32-35 players because you're going to get injuries and we have lost one or two lads already. It's very hard to keep those kind of numbers happy, but we're training well and so far so good. I can't speak highly enough for the group and for the backroom team I’m working with,” he added.

Westmeath team (vs Meath):

1. Luke Nicholson (Athlone)

2. Sean Dillon (Milltown)

3. Seanaí Bracken (St Loman's Mullingar)

4. Aodhan Curran (Moate All Whites)

5. Kealan Connell (Tubberclair)

6. Billy Moffatt (The Downs)

7. Adam Keane (Rosemount)

8. Shane Ormsby (Mullingar Shamrocks)

9. Tadhg Baker (Caulry), captain

10. Ryan Kelly (Mullingar Shamrocks)

11. Finn Duffy (Tubberclair)

12. Peter Murphy (St Malachy's)

13. Shane Corcoran (St Malachy's)

14. Ronan Murray (Moate All Whites)

15. Jack Duncan (Milltown).

Subs: Eoin Doran (Mullingar Shamrocks), Matthew Thornton (Multyfarnham), Tiarnán O'Donovan (Caulry), Eoghan Daly (Coralstown/Kinnegad), Gareth Mullaniff (Multyfarnham), Taylor Slevin (Tubberclair), Tom Bourke (Tubberclair), Oisín Shortall (Caulry), Connor Callaghan (Coralstown/Kinnegad).