Westmeath captain pleased with tough competition for places

In the aftermath of a slightly understrength Westmeath senior football side garnering a very creditable draw against Munster finalists Limerick in a challenge in the Gaelic Grounds last Saturday afternoon, team captain Michael Ennis was pleased that the Lake County "showed good character to get a draw out of it at the finish". "Yeah, that was a good work-out," the Ballinagore clubman opined, "Limerick are in a Munster final and I know they fancy their chances against Kerry. It's a big open pitch and it was a warm day and it was important for us to put up a good performance, even if we started sluggishly in the first and second half. There was disappointment after the Longford challenge (Westmeath losing by nine points in Pearse Park last Tuesday, June 15) and it's hard to put a finger on what went wrong. It was important coming here today that we put in a good performance and that we got a good result. And I think we achieved both of them." Like so many Gaels, both inside and outside Westmeath, the versatile Ennis was taken by Peter Fitzpatrick's troops display in their quarter-final. "Louth looked very impressive against Kildare. They have a very strong team with very strong midfielders who can both score, as well as six forwards who can all score. They had nine or ten frees and they didn't miss one. We have to be very disciplined in the backs not to give away scoreable frees. Any team who can score 1-22 against Kildare are a very strong team, so it's a big task ahead of us next Sunday. I know the boys have a DVD of that match and we'll do a bit of homework on them during the week." When asked as to whether he would have preferred the semi-final to be played in Navan or Croke Park, Ennis was unequivocal. "It's great to get back to Croke Park, especially after last year (when Dublin annihilated Tomás " Flatharta's charges by 27 points) which was definitely the worst experience I ever had there with Westmeath. We're delighted to be there as every player loves to play there." The very recent return of vastly-experienced players, John Keane and Derek Heavin was welcomed by Westmeath's captain. "It boosts the squad even more. I'm a good few years involved with Westmeath and I don't think I've ever seen such a strong squad. With the under-21s coming in, there's unbelievable competition for places. It's very healthy and it's great to have. There are two or three lads competing for every position. Maybe down through the years we've had lads who got a bit complacent when there was nobody pushing them on. But this year it is very competitive and anyone who's getting a chance, in fairness to them, they're taking it." Many disillusioned maroon and white-clad fan approached O'Connor Park with trepidation on June 6, after the county's dismal National League run, which ended pointless for the second successive year. When queried as to whether the passionate win over Wicklow had removed "all the doom and gloom", the former All-Star nominee responded: "Well, I wouldn't say that one win has put the whole lot of it aside, but it's definitely a start anyway. We're just looking forward to Sunday and hoping that everyone is injury-free and has a clean bill of health for the management to pick the first 15 for Sunday." On a light-hearted note, Ennis was asked if he would like to see droves of maroon and white-clad fans turn up at 5.50pm next Sunday in Jones's Road "blowing into their vuvuzelas". The skipper joked: "I think they're banned from Croke Park! Hopefully, however, the fans will be behind us. It's a big day for us. It's 70 minutes away from a Leinster final. It's a big pot to play for." It most certainly is!