Tricky trips await Westmeath flagship teams this weekend

When combined, Dudley and Eunice sound like the likely names for a lovely elderly English couple who live in a nice middle-class estate, whom you bump into when they give their beloved poodle their daily walk.

Unfortunately, their ‘namesakes’ caused havoc on this island last week, impinging on sport as is always the case. However, assuming that Dudley and Eunice (and their successor Franklin) storm out of Ireland in the next few days, National League fixtures should be back to normal next weekend, thereby allowing Joe Fortune and Jack Cooney to bring their respective troops to Trim and Ardee (throw-in 2pm in both cases) for what promise to be difficult fixtures against age-old rivals.

While Westmeath football fans were frustratedly twiddling their thumbs last Sunday afternoon, their Louth counterparts were ignoring the remnants of Eunice and embarking on a pleasant cross-country journey homewards after eking out a noteworthy win against hitherto-unbeaten Limerick, thereby pushing the Wee County firmly into the promotion race out of Division 3.

A definite level of ambition in Louth was signalled when Peter Fitzpatrick, the man we will always associate most (well, apart from Joe Sheridan!) with the daylight robbery that was the Delaney Cup final of 2010, took the bull by the horns as county board chairman by recruiting recently-ousted Tyrone manager, the legendary Mickey Harte. A la the sensational arrival of the late, great Páidí Ó Sé in these parts some 17 years earlier, the county received an instant lift.

While the men in red and white may not have the ‘nearly team’ which the Ventry maestro inherited, all boats were lifted. In conjunction with a very ambitious plan to construct a state-of-the-art stadium in a county where soccer is better served for basic facilities than the GAA, it is clear that the sitting TD has plans to revolutionise the status of Gaelic football in Ireland’s smallest county. On-field, the presence of outstanding players such as Sam Mulroy, the match-winner in UL last Sunday, suggests that Fitzpatrick’s ambition is well backboned.

Louth, All-Ireland champions as relatively recently as 1957, have generally had the measure of the Lake County over the years, winning 22 times compared with Westmeath’s nine successes, with two games drawn.

The details of the nine games played this century, with teams and scorers from the draw which secured rookie bainisteoir Cooney promotion to Division 2 almost three years ago, follow:

26/3/2000, Drogheda, Louth 3-14, Westmeath 0-13

6/4/2003, Cusack Park, Westmeath 0-18, Louth 2-7

9/4/2006, Drogheda, Westmeath 2-8, Louth 1-8

11/3/2007, Dundalk, Louth 1-12, Westmeath 0-7

12/2/2011, Haggardstown, Louth 2-13, Westmeath 0-11

23/4/2011, Croke Park, Louth 1-15, Westmeath 0-13

5/2/2012, Haggardstown, Louth 0-12, Westmeath 1-6

3/2/2013, Cusack Park, Westmeath 0-16, Louth 2-9

30/3/2019, Drogheda, Westmeath 1-10, Louth 2-7 (draw)

Westmeath v Louth - last NFL meeting (2019)

Scorers – Westmeath: G Egan 1-4 (1-0pen, 4f), L Loughlin 0-3, J Heslin, S Duncan and D Corroon 0-1 each. Louth: C Downey 0-3 (1f), J McEneaney (pen) and B Duffy 1-0 each, J Califf, S Mulroy (f), R Burns and J Craven 0-1 each.

Westmeath: Eoin Carberry; Ronan Wallace, Kevin Maguire, Boidu Sayeh; James Dolan, Frank Boyle, Killian Daly; Denis Corroon, Sam Duncan; Jack Smith, Ger Egan, Ronan O’Toole; Kieran Martin, John Heslin, Luke Loughlin. Subs used: Noel Mulligan for Smith (23), Joe Halligan for Loughlin (63).

Louth: Fergal Sheekey; Fergal Donohoe, Emmet Carolan, James Craven; Anthony Williams, Bevan Duffy, John Clutterbuck; Tommy Durnin, James Califf; Jim McEneaney, Ciaran Downey, Conor Branigan; Andy McDonnell, Sam Mulroy, Declan Byrne. Subs used: Ryan Burns for Byrne (44), Eoghan Duffy for McDonnell (49), Conor Early for Califf (54), Ross Nally for Mulroy (59), Conall McKeever for McEneaney (61).

The few handfuls of Westmeath people leaving Netwatch Cullen Park at approximately 3.40pm last Sunday week felt like they had been tossed around by a storm after witnessing a display by the men in maroon and white which was as abject as it was unexpected. Outfought and out-hurled by Carlow – and the losing manager agreed with these sentiments after the match – the Lake County lads were fortunate to get away with a six-point defeat at the hands of a team missing their marquee player in Marty Kavanagh.

It is surely safe to predict that Westmeath will not be as poor again when they face Nick Weir’s troops in Trim next Sunday. Frankly, if they are, a second consecutive defeat is very likely. Fortune’s charges have already defeated Meath in the Kehoe Cup in Dunganny this year, but that competition is really just a series of friendlies/warm-up matches for the league.

Gaels who make the short journey to St Loman’s Park, Trim will hope to see two outstanding forwards added to the team which lost so dismally to Carlow. Niall O’Brien (for over a decade) and Davy Glennon (transferred from Galway two years ago) are proven inter-county hurlers, and they should significantly bolster the Westmeath ranks. However, more will be expected of the half back line and midfield, both areas having been totally outplayed by their direct Barrowside opponents.

Frankly, if Westmeath lose on Sunday, making the top three will be an onerous task in the run-in (many of us naively rated this as a ‘given’ before a sliotar was pucked in the group). Meath have proven to be sticky opponents for their western neighbours over the years. Of the 31 contests in the league, Westmeath have won 20 and lost ten, with one game drawn.

The results of the six league ties played this millennium follow, alongside the teams and scorers from the most recent game three years ago:

9/4/2000, Navan, Meath 1-13, Westmeath 2-6

27/4/2003, Navan, Meath 4-17, Westmeath 3-11

18/4/2004, Trim, Westmeath 2-9, Meath 0-10

1/5/2005, Cusack Park, Westmeath 2-11, Meath 1-11

17/2/2018, Trim, Westmeath 1-19, Meath 1-18

24/2/2019, TEG Cusack Park, Westmeath 1-20, Meath 0-20

Westmeath v Meath - last NHL meeting (2019)

Scorers – Westmeath: R Greville 1-5, D McNicholas 0-5 (5f), N Mitchell 0-4 (3f), J Boyle 0-3, C Doyle 0-2 (1s/l), S Clavin 0-1. Meath: J Regan 0-8 (7f, 1s/l), D Healy and P O’Hanrahan (3f) 0-3 each, J Toher 0-2, K Keoghan, J Kelly, D Kelly and M O’Grady 0-1 each.

Westmeath: Aaron McHugh; Darragh Egerton, Tommy Doyle, Gary Greville; Aaron Craig, Aonghus Clarke, Paul Greville; Cormac Boyle, Shane Clavin; Robbie Greville, Killian Doyle, Joey Boyle; Allan Devine, Derek McNicholas, Niall Mitchell. Subs used: Jack Galvin for Devine (52), Ciaran Doyle for K Doyle (54), Darragh Clinton for McNicholas (56), Shane Power for C Boyle (59), Conor Shaw for P Greville (69).

Meath: Shane McGann; Ger Murphy, James Toher, Stephen Morris; Keith Keoghan, Shane Whitty, James Kelly; Alan Douglas, Padraig O’Hanrahan; Damien Healy, Jack Regan, Darragh Kelly; Fionn Ferguson, Kevin Keena, Eamon Ó Donnchadha. Subs used: Michael O’Grady for Ferguson (46), Callum O’Sullivan for Keena (64).

- Gerry Buckley