Westmeath team named for opener against Galway
Having won the 2021 All-Ireland intermediate title in emphatic fashion, Westmeath ladies face a difficult assignment in their opening game of this year's senior championship against Galway on Sunday.
Galway will have home advantage for the Group C clash in Tuam Stadium (throw-in 2pm) and the Connacht champions will be keen to keep alive their hopes of a place in the quarter-finals.
The Tribeswomen lost out to Kerry by two points in Round 1, 3-10 to 3-8. But a couple of late Galway goals (scored by Louise Ward and Leanne Coen) put a gloss on the final scoreline, with the Kingdom running out deserved winners.
Galway’s team shows just one change in personnel, with Ailish Morrissey coming in for Andrea Trill, as Westmeath go with the same starting 15 that lined out against Meath in their last outing - a TG4 Leinster championship clash. Both team line-ups are listed below.
When the teams met in this year's NFL Division 1A campaign, Galway claimed a 3-13 to 0-7 victory in a game played at Hogan Park, Moate.
Westmeath will start as underdogs but there’s enough attacking talent in their ranks, including brilliant forward Sarah Dillon, to cause Galway problems.
Michael Finneran's charges, captained by Ciara Blundell, will face Kerry in their second group game (pencilled in for Saturday, June 25).
Overall, games against Galway and Kerry are a daunting challenge for Westmeath, who face a major step-up in competing at senior level.
The top two teams in each group will qualify for the All-Ireland quarter-finals. The bottom teams will face the relegation play-offs. These will be two straight shoot-outs, with the losers of both clashes dropping to the intermediate championship for 2023. Just one team has been relegated from the top flight in recent seasons.
LGFA: TG4 All-Ireland Senior FC Round 2, Galway v Westmeath
Westmeath: A O’Donnell; M Fagan, M Scally, L Power; N Nolan, A Alford, C Kelly; F Coyle, T Dillon; V Carr, S Dillon, K Boyce Jordan; K Hegarty, K Giles, C Blundell (captain).
Galway: A Griffin; S Molloy, S Ní Loingsigh (captain), E Gavin; C Cooney, N Ward, K Geraghty; A Davoren, L Ward; L Coen, A Morrissey, M Seoighe; L Noone, O Divilly, T Leonard.