Maguire praises forwards after win over Longford

Westmeath captain Kevin Maguire said he and his colleagues were determined to recover from the previous weekend’s disappointment against Cavan when they faced Longford last Sunday.

After the 4-16 to 0-9 victory at Glennon Brothers Pearse Park, Maguire paid tribute to the collective effort and praised the work rate of his attacking colleagues.

Maguire felt Westmeath were more direct and that approach certainly brought greater reward as the second half progressed.

“Our forwards were really up for it,” remarked the Caulry man.

“We decided to go for it a little bit more. A lot of it was probably their structure in the second half rather than our performance. It opened up a little bit more for us. We kick-passed the ball a lot more.

“The boys just did really well up front; they did well on opposition kick-outs especially. I don’t know what the numbers are, but they won a lot of the opposition kick-outs and were able to convert scores. That was a big factor in us getting so many scores in the second half,” he continued.

A superb second-half performance paved the way for victory as Dessie Dolan’s side scored 2-9 without reply to record an emphatic victory.

Longford hit a purple patch midway through the first half and held a four-point lead as half-time approached, but three points before the break gave the Lake County renewed impetus.

“Longford played a frustrating style of football in that first half in that they sat everyone back and tried to counter. In fairness to them, it worked,” observed Maguire.

“A good few times, we coughed up the ball trying to get through their packed defence and they got scores down the other end. They have a few very good forwards and they were able to do a bit of damage. In the second half, there seemed a lot more space for our forwards up front. Maybe the wind was a big factor in that.”

Westmeath’s forwards were clinical and ruthless in the win with four goals scored in the second half, and Maguire complimented his side’s attack.

“Four goals; a lot of opportunities. There were probably a few missed scores in the second half that, on another day, it would’ve been disappointing (to see). But the boys did very well, even the players who came in played very well and got a few points. There was a good tally of scores across all the forwards.”

Westmeath's next Allianz Football League game is against Offaly on Sunday week, February 19 at TEG Cusack Park.