Leahy hails impact of subs but admits Westmeath lost their shape at the finish

Three points up with less than five minutes to go, Westmeath came agonisingly close to winning a first-ever All-Ireland ladies title last Sunday. And in the immediate aftermath, the Westmeath camp couldn't disguise their disappointment after Cavan staged a late rally to secure a draw. However, Westmeath have another chance to land the Mary Quinn Cup and asked if he was glad of another bite at the cherry, ebullient Westmeath co-manager Peter Leahy said: "Well I would rather if the last ball had gone over the bar and we wouldn't have another day, but this is where we are. We were three points up, we just couldn't get that illustrious fourth point, the security point." Pointing to how Westmeath went into defensive mode in the closing stages - with the half-forward line retreating - Leahy said: "As much as we screamed at the girls, we started to lose our shape. They crept down the field themselves, we were roaring and shouting at them to get back up the field. With someone of the quality of Aisling (Doonan), we knew we were in trouble every time we gave away a free." "Of course we have regrets - to go three points up with four and a half minutes left, you have to have regrets. But these two teams are both top quality sides and they probably deserve another day out," he added. When it was put to him by one member of the media that Cavan showed the greater hunger in the closing stages, Leahy took issue with such a suggestion - and with good reason, given the way the Westmeath players battled throughout. "I'd question that, whether it was hunger or whether it was down to us losing our shape. There's no doubt about it, we lost our shape. But, listen, Cavan are a top quality side. We held on to their shirt-tails in the first half and then went at them in the second half for about 20 minutes and blitzed them. The people we bring on from the bench do make a difference and they did make a difference today. We pushed very hard, got ourselves ahead, and we just have to learn how to close out games." Last Sunday's final was another occasion when Westmeath added weight to their reputation as a "second-half team" this year. "We don't start well. The first 20 minutes seem to be very poor for us all round. It's something we've been trying to change, it doesn't seem to happen. We have the stamina to keep going, our fitness is top class. We just can't seem to the get that first 20 minutes thing," said Leahy, who is joined at the helm by former Westmeath star Alan Mangan. Leahy paid tribute to the way Johanna Maher and substitute Karen Hegarty took their goal chances. "Karen is a class act. If I was a defender - I played full-back myself - I'd absolutely hate to see someone like her come on to me. She's lightning fast, she's got good skill and she's got a great attitude. Johanna Maher - I'd be amazed if she's not up there getting an All-Star nomination." The contribution of Westmeath's subs - in particularly Karen Hegarty - leaves the Westmeath management with plenty to ponder for the replay, but that's nothing new, insisted Leahy. "Karen has been coming on all year, she hasn't started one championship match and I think she's our second highest scorer. That's the quality she has. We haven't started the same team in any championship match this year. We have selection problems all the time and they're good headaches to have. Even though they spend hours and hours in my sitting room drinking tea trying to get it sorted out, it's still worth it! It's nice to have that headache." Westmeath deployed Kilbeggan's Fiona Claffey in a sweeper role for much of the game as they tried to prevent the ball going into ace Cavan attacker Aisling Doonan. "Aisling is one of the best forwards in the country, she has the sweetest left foot out there. It normally comes through Brónagh (Sheridan) into her, so we tried to block that out. It didn't actually work for us; normally Fiona mops up a lot of things. In fairness to Cavan, they knew that. When they came down to Ballinagore for the first round of the championship, they didn't expect us to put a sweeper back and they couldn't get past her. They have obviously worked on that in training, so we have to go back to the drawing board," Leahy remarked. Westmeath registered nine wides compared to Cavan's 11, but the Lake County girls did miss some relatively straightforward chances and Leahy acknowledged that shooting is a concern. "We don't have an out and out striking force like Cavan would have, but we have grafters and hard workers. Our shooting has been good and bad all year and today was one of our worst days for shooting. But in two weeks' time, we might get everything over the bar, hopefully," added the Rochfortbridge native.