Published: Wednesday, 7th July, 2010 5:00pm

Kevin Martin thrilled with third Ring Cup Final success

Westmeath senior hurling manager, Kevin Martin was unsurprisingly out of breath when he spoke to the media after his adopted county's thrilling win over Kerry in the Christy Ring Cup final at Croke Park last Saturday afternoon, initially joking that "when I didn't have a heart attack today, I never will".

The Offaly man described the contest as "heart-stopping, brilliant stuff, right to the end". The Lake County bainisteoir conceded that "Kerry were the much better team in the first half. We hadn't really hurled.

I knew there was more in them. We went four points up in the second half and I thought we were cruising. I thought we'd kick on and win it by more.

But in fairness to Kerry, they dug deep and they came back into it, and there was only a puck of the ball in it at the end."

The consensus among both sets of fans in the small crowd was that Lady Luck smiled Westmeath's way in the closing stages, with Gary O'Brien's 'goal' for the Kingdom being disallowed and winning skipper Andrew Mitchell appearing to many observers to illegally throw the ball moments before Andrew Dermody's late, late winning point. The Tullamore man accepted that O'Brien's 'goal' "could have been allowed, but we had a lot of missed chances as well. Dan Carty went through in the last minute. That's the type of forward Dan is. When he gets through, the onion bag is on his brain. If he had tapped it over the bar, it could have been a different story too." In relation to Mitchell's dubious pass out of defence, Martin stated: "To be honest somebody walked in front of me and I couldn't get a clear look at it," prompting two reporters in tandem to allude to similar comments from Arsenal soccer manager, Arsene Wenger! As the sustained laughter began to die down, the two-time All-Star added: "After that, no comment! When games are tight, sometimes referees' decisions determine the outcome of the game."

Kevin Martin was full of prise for John Meyler's defeated charges: "It was unfortunate for Kerry that they lost, but it was a gallant display by them. The effort was unbelievable from both teams. Kerry seemed very fit and our lads had to up their work rate in the second half. A couple of substitutes worked very well. Paddy Dowdall did well and I have to compliment Andrew Dermody on how cool and calm he was for an under-21 to score the last point. He's going to be a decent hurler as well. It's great to get a win any day, whether it's by a point or ten points."

When queried as to whether the men in maroon and white could drive on from their third win in the tier two championship, similar to what Carlow have done this year, Martin placed the onus firmly on the shoulders of the lads in the squad: "That's up to the players. There's only so much you can do with them.

They'll have to up their commitment again for next year if they want to be competitive. They're good enough if they do give the commitment. I'm not going to comment a whole lot on it; it's up to them and how they prepare themselves. Westmeath are every bit as good as Carlow, so there's no reason why they can't perform in the Liam McCarthy Cup. I'd be very optimistic for them. They could really be competitive if they wanted to be."

With a very small attendance present in GAA headquarters for a triple-header of finals in the Meagher, Rackard and Ring Cups, Kevin Martin confirmed that he had been "critical that the game was on today, that it maybe wasn't on before the Leinster final tomorrow to promote the game in weaker counties. Underage development is really coming on in most of the weaker counties, Westmeath in particular."

Whether that progress can yield tangible rewards at adult level remains to be seen, but, for the moment, retention of Division Two status and a third triumph in the Christy Ring Cup represents a very decent return for Kevin Martin in his first year in charge of the Westmeath senior hurlers.