Castledaly face Coralstown/Kinnegad as Garrycastle meet The Downs

CASTLEDALY"s quest to capture a first ever Westmeath SFC title continues apace when they meet Coralstown-Kinnegad at the quarter-final stage in Cusack Park, Mullingar on Sunday (throw-in: 2pm). The match is part of a quarter-final double header at Westmeath headquarters on Sunday, with Garrycastle also pencilled in to play The Downs at 3.30pm. Castledaly"s progress to the quarter-finals was sealed in a most dramatic fashion in Cusack Park last Sunday. Having earlier on Sunday beaten Bunbrosna in their final group match, Castledaly were left waiting on the outcome of the Tyrrellspass/Mullingar Shamrocks game afterwards. With Shamrocks leading by a single point in the closing stages, Castledaly looked destined to exit the competition, with Castledaly relying on a Tyrrellspass victory to reach the latter stages. Then, deep into injury time, Westmeath star Martin Flanagan"s goal dramatically sent Mullingar Shamrocks out of the competition and meant Castledaly"s progression to the knockout phase was ensured. Speaking ahead of Sunday"s quarter-final against Coralstown-Kinnegad, Castledaly manager Padraig Farrell admitted thinking his team looked out of the competition as the Tyrrellspass/Mullingar Shamrocks game entered its dying minutes. 'The Tyrrellspass goal came way into injury time; three or four minutes into it. We looked dead and buried to be honest. The turnaround in the Tyrrellspass game was unreal and in fairness undeserved,' said Farrell. However, Farrell was also keen to acknowledge his player"s efforts in qualifying from the so-called "Group of Death", which also included Tyrrellspass, Garrycastle, Mullingar Shamrocks, Athlone and Bunbrosna. 'We sneaked through in the end but showed good form in our last two outings against Garrycastle and Bunbrosna,' Farrell said. He added: 'Very few people gave us any chance of progressing through the group. We only sneaked through in the end but we"re in the quarter-finals now.' Castledaly did, however, draw with Garrycastle in the group stage, and are also the only team to beat reigning champions Tyrrellspass in this year"s competition. JP Casey is a long-term injury casualty for Castledaly and will play no part on Sunday but Russell Casey and Tommy Warburton will come back into contention for a starting place. Castledaly, who for inspiration will look towards the likes of Niall O"Neill, Derek Heavin, Gordon Duffy, Brendan Kelly, Paul Kelly and James Galvin, beat Coralstown-Kinnegad in the league earlier this year. Meanwhile, Garrycastle"s bid to win a first county title since 2004 continues against The Downs on Sunday in a repeat of the 2005 final, when The Downs proved successful and denied Garrycastle a two-in-a-row. Garrycastle"s comfortable victory over local rivals Athlone in the final group match last Sunday was almost enough to send them through to the semi-finals - until Martin Flanagan"s late, late goal saw Tyrrellspass finish the group as winners. The Downs, meanwhile, finished third placed in their group behind St Loman"s and Coralstown-Kinnegad. Elsewhere this weekend, Division Two of the Westmeath IFC reaches its climax, with local outfit Tang requiring victory from their clash with Shandonagh to reach the knockout phase (Sunday, Cusack Park, throw-in: 6.15pm). However, Shandonagh also need at least a draw from this fixture to make sure of qualification. The meeting of Milltownpass and Ballynacargy takes place beforehand in Cusack Park (throw-in: 5pm). Bottom placed Rosemount are also in desperate need of a win from their final group match against table-toppers Tubberclair, who have won all four group matches and are already guaranteed a place in the semi-finals. With just one point from four outings to date, Rosemount require victory to stand any chance of avoiding a relegation play-off against Caulry, who finished bottom of Division One. This match takes place on Friday in Páirc Chiarain, with throw-in scheduled for 8pm.