The Downs face early test against St Loman's

Moate to meet Tubberclair in intriguing first round clash

There are some big first round games in the Westmeath club championships following the draws on Thursday evening in the Mullingar Park Hotel.

The Downs, holders of the Paddy Flanagan Cup, will take on St Loman’s, Mullingar, in the big senior round one tie. Two possible starting dates have been agreed, either the weekend of July 5, or that of July 19, depending on how far the Westmeath senior footballers' progress in the All-Ireland series.

The Downs and St Loman’s, the last two winners of the senior football championship, meet in round one and this year it carries a lot more significance. Three teams are qualifying from the weaker Section ‘B’, meaning there is one less spot for the teams in Section ‘A’.

With added jeopardy, there is not the same leeway in terms of timing your run, or perhaps not placing full emphasis on that opening round game. In the past, a team could finish fourth, having lost a few times in the group, and still get through to a quarter-final. Not any more.

The Downs beat St Loman’s by a point in the first round of the league in February (0-13 to 1-9), but this will have no bearing on the impending championship clash.

The other games in Section ‘A’ of the SFC are Garrycastle vs Coralstown/Kinnegad (defeated finalists last year) and Mullingar Shamrocks vs Caulry.

Section ‘B’ sees Tubberclair and Moate All Whites clash, the former making their return to senior ranks after a long number of years following the Peter Geraghty Cup success last year. It’s a big south Westmeath clash and Tubberclair will carry high hopes, especially with Matthew Whittaker now emerging as a leading light at inter-county level.

The other Section ‘B’ first round games are Tyrrellspass vs Killucan and Athlone vs Tang (who stayed up after winning a dramatic relegation play-off last year). At first glance, Tubberclair and Athlone have strong chances of taking the first two qualifying spots, while the other is very much up in the air and Killucan will justifiably see it as a great chance.

At intermediate level, which is seriously competitive, Milltown and Shandonagh clash in a compelling first round derby. Both clubs are on the verge of senior football and there was an undercurrent to last year’s semi-final encounter at TEG Cusack Park, a game won by Shandonagh in the end on a 2-16 to 1-16 scoreline. Ugly scenes marred that fixture and Shandonagh finished with 13 players, Milltown with 14. Shandonagh had beaten them earlier, 3-10 to 1-2, in Ballymore in the group stages.

This year’s first round tie is set up to be a spicy encounter. The sides met in the league last week, a game won narrowly by Shandonagh (1-16 to 0-18), but that is irrelevant in the overall scheme of things, with neither side at full strength and county players to return to the respective teams for the upcoming championship.

It’s difficult to comprehend how this could be bigger than the first round senior football championship clash of The Downs and St Loman’s. Perhaps it’s not, but it is every bit as intriguing. Old scores to be settled make for an eagerly-awaited local derby.

While other teams will rightly feel they can upset the odds, Milltown and Shandonagh are the leading contenders for the Peter Geraghty Memorial Cup.

Apart from Shandonagh vs Milltown, there’s the first round meeting of Milltownpass and Castledaly, and Multyfarnham vs St Malachy’s to enjoy. Milltownpass will be buoyed by the emergence of Brandon Kelly as a Westmeath star, while Westmeath captain Ronan Wallace will lead Multyfarnham’s charge against last year’s relegated senior side.

Section ‘B’ sees Ballinagore, the newly crowned junior champions, meet CFCW, while St Mary’s Rochfortbridge play Rosemount and Maryland take on Ballymore in another eye-catching derby joust. Again, three teams emerging from Section ‘B’ makes for a very interesting first round.

Meanwhile, the Westmeath Junior 1 football championship will have to be redrawn after an error was made. Back in February, junior clubs pushed for two groups of six and succeeded (following a vote), but the draw on Thursday set up one group of five for the sole junior clubs (Section ‘A’), and a group of seven for the second-string senior sides (Section ‘B’).

Shay Murtagh Precast Westmeath SFC

Section A: Garrycastle v Coralstown/Kinnegad; The Downs v St Loman's, Mullingar; Caulry v Mullingar Shamrocks. Section B: Tyrrellspass v Killucan; Tang v Athlone; Moate All Whites v Tubberclair.

Shay Murtagh Precast Westmeath IFC

Section 'A': Milltownpass v Castledaly; Shandonagh v Milltown; Multyfarnham v St Malachy's. Section 'B': Ballinagore v Castletown-Finea/Coole/Whitehall; St Mary's Rochfortbridge v Rosemount; Maryland v Ballymore

Clarke's Bar Junior 2 Football

Section A: Delvin v Rosemount; Ballycomoyle v Loughnavalley. Section B: Mullingar Shamrocks v Caulry; St Mary's Rochfortbridge v Garrycastle; Tyrrellspass - BYE.