Westmeath minors bid for victory despite missing some key players

 

The Westmeath minor football team face their first major test of the year when they take on Wexford in the opening round of the Leinster championship at Cusack Park tomorrow (Saturday, 3.30pm).

Westmeath are without some key players for the clash with Wexford. Rosemount’s Andrew McCormack (dead leg), Israel Ilunga (All-Ireland Vocational Schools final), Sean Doyle (rugby commitments) and Liam Varley (an eye operation) are all unavailable.

But Westmeath manager Tom Carr believes his side can rise above the list of absentees for the meeting against the Model County.

 

“Training has been going extremely well over the past number of weeks and attendances have been great, but we have suffered a couple of body-blows with the lads being unavailable for various reasons,” said Carr.

 

“It’s very unfortunate timing with Israel (Ilunga) playing in the Vocational Schools’ All-Ireland final and it’s disappointing to lose these guys, to lose any guys for that matter. But I think we have the strength in depth to cope without them and hopefully the lads called upon will bring their 'A’ game, as they say, and we can produce a good performance.”

Both counties had mixed form in the Leinster Minor Football League earlier in the season, with Westmeath losing to Longford and Dublin before drawing with Tipperary. Wexford lost heavily to Meath before beating Carlow in the competition.

 

Carr has called on his side to clamp down on the number of goalscoring chances they afforded their opponents in the Leinster MFL.

 

“Our undoing in the league matches was a tendency to give up too many goalscoring chances and ultimately, to concede far too many goals,” Carr told the Westmeath Independent.

 

“We were a bit watery in the league, to be honest, and losing so many goals, I think it was eight, nine or ten, is a killer for any team. We most certainly need to do better in that department,” added the Dublin and Roscommon manager.

 

Earlier this week, Kildare hammered Kilkenny in the Leinster MFC by 2-29 to 0-1. In what was yet another bleak occasion for Kilkenny football, the Noresiders just managed a single score.

 

Electric Ireland Leinster MFC Fixtures

Saturday, April 13

Westmeath v Wexford, Mullingar, 3.30pm
Louth v Dublin, Drogheda, 3pm
Wicklow v Carlow, Aughrim, 3pm