Athlone bidding to atone for minor final disappointment

ATHLONE will bid to banish the disappointment of losing last weekend's Westmeath Minor Division 1 Final when they attempt to claim U16 honours in the county championship this weekend,. The U16 decider, against Coralstown-Kinnegad, will act as curtain-raiser to the Westmeath SFC final replay between Garrycastle and Mullingar Shamrocks, who drew at Cusack Park last weekend (see this week's Westmeath Independent for extensive coverage). The U16 final is scheduled to begin at 12.45pm on Sunday at Cusack, with the senior joust ensuing at 2.30pm. However, Athlone's U16s will have to triumph without one of their most important players, with Aidy Byrne set to miss out through suspension following a straight red-card in last weekend's minor final loss to Moate All-Whites (see this week's Westmeath Independent for match report). Byrne's absence would be all the more keenly felt given that Athlone are expected to be missing a number of key players for various reasons.