Hurlers facing serious battle to remain in the top flight

After his side shipped 4-16 in the first half and suffered a heavy defeat against Galway at TEG Cusack Park last Saturday, Westmeath senior hurling manager Joe Fortune insisted the team will continue to battle to remain in the top flight and will be ready for a crunch game against Antrim in the final round.

Prior to that Westmeath will travel to Wexford to take on the Slaneysiders in the fourth round on Sunday week and they currently face a huge challenge to even get their first choice team on the field, with injuries to several leading stars.

“We’ll keep fighting. These boys won’t give up, I’ve no doubt about that. It’s a tough station for me now and it would have been an easy thing to walk away last October, but my job over the next few weeks is to make sure we put in a better performance against Wexford and the best performance of the year against Antrim. In three weeks’ time we’ll be ready to take on Antrim here,” declared Fortune.

Marquee forward Killian Doyle missed Saturday's game, as did a plethora of other leading players and Fortune agreed it's particularly tough on the Lake County having to face the top sides with a depleted squad.

“Jack Galvin has a hamstring twinge; Niall Mitchell’s back went into spasm; Darragh Egerton the same with a hip flexor problem; and Ciaran Doyle had tight calves during the week. We’re putting the strongest team out. I can’t rest any players," he said.

Following Antrim's positive display against Kilkenny at the weekend (they scored 3-20 against the Cats), Westmeath appear to be facing a serious battle to survive at the top level.

The Lake County will now have a well-earned rest before they take on Wexford, a side they managed to earn a draw with last year.