‘It's all about the team' says award winner Jones

Tennis star Serena Williams, who returned to Wimbledon last week after a four-year absence, has spoken of how she has grown most from setbacks. Ahead of Sunday’s All-Ireland intermediate semi-final, it’s something Westmeath ladies could relate to.

Indeed, attacking ace Anna Jones - who can also operate in midfield - believes the lessons learned during a demanding Lidl NFL Division 2 campaign have been crucial in preparing the Lake County for Sunday’s clash against neighbours Roscommon.

After suffering the disappointment of relegation despite competing strongly against senior opposition, Westmeath have responded impressively by claiming the Leinster intermediate title and reaching the last four of the All-Ireland series. Jones feels those difficult months earlier in the year have helped build a more resilient and battle-hardened squad.

“I think we knew we had a good pre-season put down prior to the league and we were actually really targeting it,” she explained.

“A couple of the early results didn’t go our way and then you’re kind of left scrambling towards the end of the league to try and pick up points. When you’re in that position it can be difficult because you don’t get a performance on the day and you’re left basically without points at the end of the league, and that’s kind of what happened to us. We were building with each game and a certain style of football we wanted to play and things we were going after, and we’ve just continued to build on that since the league. Obviously now we’ve started to get a couple of results.

“I suppose in Division 2 you’re up against senior teams as well and we probably showed we’re not far off it. Probably at this stage of the year we’re a lot closer, so that’s where we want to get to and next weekend is a great chance to put us back in a position to do that,” she continued.

Westmeath produced a solid display to secure a 3-12 to 3-7 victory over Wexford in the All-Ireland quarter-final, a result which continued the momentum built since the league campaign ended.

“Delighted with the result the last day,” remarked Jones.

“On the back of the league we’ve built a lot of momentum through the Leinster championship and then obviously facing Wexford again for the second time in the championship and the third time this year, we knew them well. It was great to get the result again. It was a difficult day with the breeze and it was a good result to get,” she said.

Jones was recently recognised with the LGFA Player of the Month award for May, but insists individual honours pale in comparison to what the team is striving to achieve.

“Those things are nice when they happen, but really it’s about the team. Picking up the Leinster title and hopefully now going on next weekend and advancing to the final is our goal, so those things are much more important than the efforts of any individual,” she said.

The resilience shown by Westmeath this season has not developed overnight. Jones believes it stems partly from the heartbreak of last year’s All-Ireland semi-final defeat to Tyrone after extra-time.

“Even going back to last year’s semi-final, we probably didn’t see the game out in the 60 minutes and then we lost it in extra-time. This year something we’ve been really working on is that we can go out and play 70, 80 or 90 minutes of football if that’s what it takes; just being resilient in games. Setbacks happen, but it’s how you bounce back within the games,” she noted.

“Even if performances haven’t been quite where we want them to be, just being able to win ugly at times is as important as the day when it all comes together.”

Another factor in Westmeath’s progress has been the emergence of an exciting group of young players, who have blended seamlessly with the more experienced members of the panel.

“It’s probably filled a bit of a gap in a way over the last couple of years, but we’ve really started to see the girls from the minor teams over the last few years coming through now. We’ve been getting them up to the senior pace of play and getting them into the gym for the strength and conditioning that goes with that. I’d like to credit Joe Nangle in Wolfhound Fitness this year especially, and Cian O’Connor, who are part of our management,” she said.

“They have us in great shape and just getting those younger girls up to the pitch of play has been really important, as well as driving on the girls who have been on the panel. Obviously they’re all fabulous footballers, so that definitely helps, along with the strength and conditioning you need at inter-county level,” added the Mullingar Shamrocks star.

Part of the side which won the All-Ireland Intermediate title in Croke Park in 2021, Jones would dearly love to return to headquarters with a new-look squad.

“I was playing in 2021 as well and obviously that was a positive experience. It’s what we’ve been trying to work back towards,” she admitted.

“We came down from senior the year after which wasn’t what we hoped for, but with a lot of retirements from the team that won the intermediate, we were left in a difficult position to compete at senior. We’ve gone through that transition now over the last five years and are building back up to a place where we have the potential to win the intermediate title. We need to get through the semi-final first of all, but we’re at the standard now where we know we’re able to produce consistent results.

“The opportunity to play in Croke Park is quite rare in ladies football, so that’s definitely, for me personally, something I’d love to get back to. For a lot of the girls it would be their first time ever to play there. That’s what’s up for grabs next weekend, so that’s definitely a target. I remember both days that we played in Croke Park fondly, even though one of the results didn’t go our way (Westmeath lost to Meath in the 2020 All-Ireland intermediate final). Getting back there to play in an All-Ireland final has been a major goal within the group,” she explained.

Standing in Westmeath’s way are Roscommon, opponents Jones expects to provide another stern examination.

“We’ve played them plenty of times over the last few years and we know they’re always tough opposition. They’ll put it up to us for the full 60 minutes. They’ve come into a nice bit of form in the championship as well and had a good result against Leitrim. I know people are saying it was one of their best performances, so they’re obviously coming into form at the right time too,” she observed.

“They have some good forwards and a good structure in place, so it’ll definitely be a challenge for us to counteract that. But we’ll get our homework done, go after it and concentrate on our own performance again,” she concluded.