The Westmeath senior footbllers face Dublin in the Leinster final this Sunday. Photo: John McCauley.

Westmeath team named for Leinster final showdown

The Westmeath team for Sunday’s Leinster SFC final against Dublin shows one change from the side which defeated Kildare in the semi-finals.

The Westmeath team was released this morning (Friday) and the only change in personnel sees Maryland’s Callum McCormack replace John Connellan in attack. The Athlone man’s participation has been in considerable doubt due to an injury sustained in training and, as expected, he hasn’t been named in the starting XV.

Connellan was unable to play in last year’s Leinster decider against Dublin after he picked up an injury during the warm-up, so it will be a cruel blow if he misses out entirely again. However, there are hopes that he might be able to play a role off the bench.

John’s younger brother Ray has been selected at wing-forward, with the aforementioned McCormack named at No. 15. The team is captained by Ger Egan of Tyrrellspass.

On Sunday, Dublin will be seeking their 11th Leinster title in 12 years. At the time of writing, Dublin manager Jim Gavin had yet to name his team for the final.

Sunday’s Leinster final between Westmeath and All-Ireland champions Dublin at Croke Park has a 4pm throw-in and will be televised live on RTE. It will be preceded by the Leinster minor football final between Kildare and Laois (2pm). See www.westmeathgaa.ie and www.gaa.ie for ticket details.

*Check out this week’s Westmeath Independent for a special souvenir supplement on the Leinster final.

Westmeath Team (Leinster SFC Final v Dublin)

1 Darren Quinn
2 Kevin Maguire
3 Francis Boyle
4 Killian Daly
5 Jamie Gonoud
6 Alan Stone
7 James Dolan
8 Denis Corroon
9 Ger Egan (captain)
10 David Lynch
11 Paul Sharry
12 Ray Connellan
13 Kieran Martin
14 John Heslin
15 Callum McCormack