Westmeath minor football team named for Dublin fixture
Westmeath minor football manager Mick Dillon has named his team to play Dublin in the Leinster minor championship tonight (Tuesday) in Kinnegad at 7.30pm.
The hosts will be hoping to claim their second win of this year's provincial campaign following their resounding 3-15 to 0-12 win over Longford in their opening Group 2 fixture.
Westmeath minor boss Mick Dillon was "thrilled" with the work ethic and overall performance of his charges over the game's duration.
“It’s a great start and we are very pleased. It’s been difficult to get going recently with the wet weather and we missed the Longford game in the Leinster League as pitches were unplayable, so we knew very little about them other than a lot of work was going on with the team,” he remarked.
“To score 3-15 is really positive and gets us off on the right foot. The most pleasing thing is the way we took control of the game and we never really looked like being caught,” he said.
Alongside Dillon, Allan Mullen (Rosemount), Lorcan Dolan (Castledaly), Mark Samuels (formerly Athlone and Garrycastle, now Clonmacnoise) and Ryan Jones (St Loman’s, Mullingar) have been working with the minor side.
“We have a good setup and we are getting terrific support from Patrick Doherty (Westmeath GAA’s Head of Operations).
“We are keen to build on what’s been happening at underage level in the county, especially with Coláiste Mhuire winning the Hogan Cup on St Patrick’s Day.
“We also had Marist College, Athlone, in the Leinster final (Br Bosco Cup) and we have a lot of players on the panel who have been exposed to some top-quality coaching. All of that feeds into what we are doing,” he added.
Looking towards tonight's fixture in Kinnegad, Dillon said Westmeath will face a "very different challenge" against Dublin.
“We are well aware of the challenge, but a lot of these players have played at such a high level already and they will meet it head on. We treated Longford seriously and we’ll do the same with Dublin," Dillon added.
Aside from Cleary and McWade, there are a lot of other players who were part of the Coláiste Mhuire success, including Aaron Connaire, Eoghan Daly, Louie Dillon, Tomás Brennan, Tristan Boyce Jordan, Hugo Corroon and Dillon Burke. It makes for a strong Westmeath squad.
“We are targeting a big performance against Dublin and the result will take care of itself. Every effort is being made to drive things on and make further progress,” Dillon said.
Following tonight's clash with Dublin, Westmeath will play Offaly in their final Group 2 outing on Tuesday, April 14.
The provincial knockout phase will start on Tuesday, April 21, culminating in the Leinster final on Friday, May 22.
Westmeath minor football team to play Dublin: Tom McCaul (Mullingar Shamrocks); Tom Weir (St Loman's), Tomás Brennan (Shandonagh), Louie Dillon (Millmore Gaels); Cian McKeogh (Killucan), Eoghan Daly (The Downs), Gary Staunton (Tubberclair); Finn Brennan (The Downs); Billy Stenson (Moate All Whites); Dean Kelly (Milltownpass), Darragh Murray (Moate All Whites), Conor Cleary (The Downs); Stephen McWade (Shandonagh), Alex Mullen Adamson (Cill Óige). Substitutes: Ben Thornton (Multyfarnham), Darragh Deegan (Cill Óige), Dylan Gaffney (St Michael's), Harry Hughes (Millmore Gaels), Hugo Corroon (Mullingar Shamrocks), Josh Murtagh (The Downs), Mark Monaghan (St Joseph's), Rhys Brady (Multyfarnham), Zak Bates (Multyfarnham).