Hurlers aiming to build on memorable Wexford win
In a sensational result, Westmeath overcame Wexford at Chadwicks Wexford Park last Sunday to record their first win over the Slaneysiders at senior level since 1940.
Westmeath manager Joe Fortune, himself a Wexford native, was thrilled with the victory and said it was a proud occasion for Westmeath hurling.
“We’ve been talking since I took the job of ‘taking a scalp’. I always felt that Westmeath needed to believe a little bit more. Against Kilkenny and Galway, we just weren’t good enough.
“Today, we were 16 points down at half-time and yet we won it in the end. Look, in the first half we simply did not perform, we did not get off the bus. It was embarrassing. We were way too restrictive in our play.
“We used those words with the players at half-time. We were honest with them. We told them to park the first half, there was nothing we could do about it, but to go out and perform with pride in the second half," he remarked afterwards.
“I said, ‘there are people down here that are paying their good money and do you want to leave a legacy as the best Westmeath team ever?’
“It was the first time in the dressing-room that I felt, ‘was I a bit too harsh with them?’
“But we got the start to the second half we required. I thought Niall O’Brien was exceptional and carried us early in that second half.
“Niall Mitchell, when he came on late in the game also. Darragh Egerton was exceptional in defence, while the ‘Jogger’ has surely deserved an All Star nomination over the years.
“He never gets the accolades he deserves, not just for on-the-pitch stuff but off-the-pitch as well.
“He resonates with positivity all the time. He’s just a warrior.”
Westmeath face Antrim next Sunday at TEG Cusack Park (2pm), still needing a victory to be assured of their place in the Leinster championship next year.
“We’ll savour this victory, but now we must come back down because we have a huge game with Antrim next weekend. This will mean an awful lot to Westmeath.
“Days like today will stand a long time in the minds of Westmeath hurling people and it’s about building on that now, and not just being happy with mediocrity.
“But we still have to go to Cusack Park and put in the biggest performance ever next Sunday to stay in the Liam MacCarthy,” added Fortune.