Wallace and his team mates ready for Galway challenge

Westmeath captain Ronan Wallace believes his team will give favourites Galway a real test at Pearse Stadium, Salthill, next Sunday in Round 2A of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship at 2pm.

With thousands of Westmeath fans set to travel to the venue, it has the makings of another great sporting occasion.

Wallace said the previous meetings with Galway in 2023 and 2024 will give Westmeath confidence they can compete at the top level. Back then, under Dessie Dolan’s watch, Westmeath were highly competitive against the Tribesmen. Wallace is fully aware of the attacking talent in the current Galway side but believes Westmeath have made good progress under Mark McHugh, who's in his first year at the helm.

“The two games in the All-Ireland series against Galway (2023 and ‘24) were close; we were winning in the 2023 one and we had Ray (Connellan) sent off and they really turned the screw on us. Then the year after we gave the ball straight to Shane Walsh when it was 0-12 apiece with three minutes to go (and Gawlay scored a goal),” he recalled.

“We know we have been close, but they have really stepped things up this year. Their forwards are shooting the lights out. Rob Finerty is really having a standout year so he’ll be one to mark," added Walsh, also mentioning Galway stars like Paul Conroy, Damien Comer and the aforementioned Walsh.

Westmeath have been enjoying a terrific season of their own, winning five championship games at this level for the first time in the county’s history. Some of the new players have made a major difference, with Brandon Kelly and Shane Corcoran enjoying a superb year in the inside forward line, and Matthew Whittaker making a serious impression from wing-back. Daniel Scahill is another emerging star in defence.

“It’s great. It’s just the exuberance of youth,” enthused Wallace.

“These boys play with no fear - some of them are 20 years of age. They were only born the last time Westmeath won the Leinster title (2004), so it just shows how wild it is. They go out and give it everything, they play with freedom,” he remarked.

“As you get older you have the nerves going into games, but these boys go out and show what they are about. Hopefully they’ll be flying for Westmeath for many years to come,” he added.

Westmeath’s victory over Cavan at TEG Cusack Park in the previous round, in front of over 12,000 supporters, came after an extra-time thriller. Cavan, who found back from nine points down, established a six-point lead in the first period of extra-time before the Lake County produced a blistering second period to win by four points.

Wallace said it was a special occasion. “You could feel the tension in Mullingar. The emotions of the Leinster win - there was a whole week of celebration. And then the occasion in TEG Cusack Park; there was a packed house. It was tense. The crowd were just expecting a big performance,” he remarked.

“We probably performed in certain parts well, but Cavan were always going to come back into it. With Dermot (McCabe) coming back to Mullingar, he was going to get a reception. It was feisty,” he recalled.

Wallace spoke of the impact of the two-pointers in that game and how they have the potential to change a contest very quickly.

“Conor Casey - you just have to tip your hat to him. It was an unbelievable score (to equalise); to be able to get that two-pointer from near the sideline with Ray (Connellan) diving on his boot as well,” he noted.

“Mark (McHugh) said, if we dive on his boot and he kicks the score, tip your hat to him. It was unbelievable and they found that momentum in the first half of extra-time. They got their scores but we knew it was in us to come back,” he said.

The Westmeath captain said the players never lost their belief that they could turn things around in that second period of extra-time. He praised the quality and experience of his colleagues.

“We just knew we had to start shooting. We still had to get the process right. We stuck to it, we got our shooters on the ball. (John) Heslin - to get that turnover to set up the goal - just shows the quality the man has,” he said.

“He had another (similar) tackle just before that. He has it in his locker - it’s nearly AFL style, punching the ball out of the opponent’s hands. Especially with the (wet) conditions, players were doing well to hold on to the ball under pressure. Heslin came out of nowhere and just punched the ball out of the Cavan player’s hands to set up the goal. He nearly had a goal himself from a similar enough tackle. It shows the quality he still has,” he remarked.

Two-pointers from Senan Baker and Wallace, combined with a goal by Kevin O’Sullivan, eventually put Westmeath on the way to a famous victory. Other provincial champions (Kerry and Roscommon) had fallen, but Westmeath found a way to win.

Wallace said they had focused on shooting in training and were fully aware of how significant two-pointers are. Players were intent on showing their quality.

“You just put the head down and swing the boot,” remarked Wallace.

“We do a good bit of practice on that in training. It pays off. Mark backs us to take those shots if they go wide, they go wide,” he added.

The Westmeath team to face Galway has yet to be announced, but there are injury concerns around star wing-back Matthew Whittaker, who has played through the pain barrier against both Dublin and Cavan. Defender Daniel Scahill was another who picked up an injury in the Leinster final and came off before the end of the Cavan clash.

Players like Adam Treanor and and Jack Duncan have been making big impacts off the bench, however, while it's likely that Shane Ormsby will return to the panel having missed the Cavan game.