Westmeath aim to continue impressive Leinster form
All-Ireland SFC first round preview: Westmeath v Cavan
A remarkable season for Westmeath senior footballers will continue on Saturday evening when they welcome Cavan to a packed TEG Cusack Park in round one of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (5pm).
It’s a massive game for both sides considering the way some of the games went last weekend. Kerry were beaten comprehensively by Donegal and will be in the draw for the first round losers, as will Meath. Westmeath will be targeting a win to build on their Leinster success,but also to ensure they have at least two more games in the championship.
The eight winners of the Round 1 ties will be drawn against each other in Round 2A. The four winners from this stage progress to the All-Ireland SFC quarter-finals. The eight losers of the Round 1 ties will be drawn against each other in Round 2B. The four losers at this stage will exit the championship.
Westmeath of course knew their opposition before the Leinster final success, the draw for the All-Ireland series taking place before the provincial finals, much to the bemusement of many observers. When the draw was initially made, Saturday’s tie was viewed as a 50-50 game and it remains such, even allowing for Westmeath’s impressive extra-time victory over Dublin in the Leinster final.
Cavan will be determined to produce an improved display on their Ulster championship meeting with Monaghan and they have had almost six weeks to recover. Under former Westmeath boss Dermot McCabe, they will be well briefed and will feel they have every chance of getting back to winning ways.
Westmeath have shown remarkable resilience thus far, especially against Meath, Kildare and Dublin. They scored 5-25 against Longford in their Leinster opener, but their displays against Meath, Kildare and Dublin really caught the eye.
While Luke Loughlin will miss the rest of the season having had surgery on a severe hamstring injury, the return of John Heslin has given Mark McHugh’s men a boost and he showed he still has the ability to make a real difference when he was introduced against Dublin. Heslin’s ability to win possession in midfield impressed and he settled in to kick a superb two-pointer.
Westmeath’s collective display was the most impressive aspect of their victory, however. They had a number of impressive efforts from the likes of Charlie Drumm, Matthew Whittaker, Ronan Wallace, Ray Connellan, Sam McCartan and Kevin O’Sullivan in attack.
Westmeath will have had just two weeks to recover from their exertions in Croke Park and Whittaker is still recovering from that ankle injury which restricted him to less than an hour, and of course forced him off early against Kildare (he did return to play a part in extra-time). Danny Scahill was forced off injured in the Leinster final and his absence would be a blow. Indeed, the true strength of the Westmeath panel will be tested in this All-Ireland series.
Westmeath are well capable of making a winning start if they can get a grip at midfield and their attacking game continues to flourish. They have serious pace in the inside forward line where Shane Corcoran and Brandon Kelly look threatening and their goal scoring rate is impressive. They got two against Dublin, both rather fortunate, but both Corcoran and Kelly had decent chances before then, so they are still creating openings.
Two-pointers will obviously play a role and Westmeath can match Cavan in this area, Conneallan and Heslin two who immediately spring to mind. And in Croke Park, Shane Allen and Matthew Whittaker showed their prowess in this regard.
The big Westmeath crowd can play a vital part on Saturday and there should be a great atmosphere. The 16th man certainly played a key role in the Leinster final success in Croke Park.
Westmeath’s only meeting with Cavan in the All-Ireland series came in the old qualifiers in 2014 when Cavan won by a solitary point, 1-15 to 1-14, at Breffni Park. John Heslin is the only surviving member from that day and he scored 0-4 of his side’s tally, but it wasn’t enough to stop the home side winning.
An intriguing backdrop to Saturday's game is the fact that Mark McHugh will lock horns with his former boss after McCabe brought him in as part of his Westmeath management team in 2025.
A closer look at Cavan
Cavan's only championship display was a frustrating one as they lost to Monaghan in the Ulster SFC quarter-final. Dermot McCabe's men produced a spirited second-half response but ultimately came up short against Monaghan in Clones. After a sluggish opening that saw Monaghan build a commanding seven-point half-time lead, Cavan showed far greater urgency after the break and briefly threatened a comeback through goals from Tiarnan Madden and substitute Darragh Lovett.
Paddy Lynch and Oisín Brady carried much of Cavan’s attacking threat early on, while Emmanuel Shehu and Lovett also impressed during their best spell in the third quarter. However, Cavan were left frustrated by Monaghan goalkeeper Rory Beggan, who produced a series of crucial saves, including two denials from Lynch — one from the penalty spot — at key moments in the contest.
The loss of Dara McVeety to injury disrupted Cavan further, and despite reducing the gap to three points entering the final quarter, they were unable to sustain momentum as Monaghan finished strongly. Favour Shehu’s late red card compounded a disappointing end for the Breffni men, whose slow start ultimately proved too much to overcome.
The Cavan team who played Monaghan was as follows: Liam Brady; Niall Carolan, Brían O’Connell, Cormac Brady; Ryan Tobin, Conor Brady, Peter Corrigan; Ryan Donohoe, Eoin Clarke; Emmanuel Shehu (0-3; 1tp), Oisín Brady (0-2), Ciarán Brady (Arva); Tiarnan Madden (1-1), Dara McVeety, Paddy Lynch (0-7; 1 tpf; 1f). Subs: Gearóid McKiernan for Corrigan (18); Darragh Lovett (1-1) for McVeety (inj., 41); Evan Crowe for O Brady (45); Caoimhan McGovern for Donohoe (51); Favour Shehu for Carolan (57).