Kingdom comes next for Westmeath ladies

Following their 13-point defeat to Galway last weekend, the Westmeath ladies have a short period of time to dust themselves off before they depart for Killarney next Sunday to take on Kerry.

It's a must win game for the midlanders if they are to reach the All-Ireland quarter-finals.

The Lake County, who are plying their trade in the highest level of ladies football, have been on the wrong side of some heavy defeats this year, but they will be hoping to restore pride back in the jersey when they face off against the Kingdom this coming Sunday.

Speaking ahead of their 'do or die' encounter, Westmeath manager Sean Finnegan is under no illusion regarding the difficult task they face against Kerry (Fitzgerald Stadium, 2pm).

"We were very disappointed with the way things materialised for us against Galway. We didn't take our opportunities in front of the target and that was reflected in how low our scoring tally was at the full-time whistle," he said.

"We spoke about trying to keep our defence very tight before the Galway game in an effort to limit their scoring chances in front of the goals. The girls did their best, but they were playing against a very experienced Galway team who will fancy themselves as one of the contenders for the Brendan Martin Cup. We have very little time to dust ourselves off before we play Kerry next weekend. Naturally, the heads in the dressing room were very down after the Galway game but we don't have any time now to feel sorry for ourselves. The quick turnaround isn't ideal, but it's the same for every team," he continued.

The players were due to meet up themselves for a recovery session on Monday evening last, before the squad gets together tonight (Wednesday). And Finnegan is hopeful of a clean bill of health for next Sunday's game against Kerry. "We have lost a couple of players over the course of the campaign for different reasons but we have a good squad and the girls who have come into the team have made the transition well," he said.

Looking ahead to the Kerry game, Finnegan said: "This is a must win game for us, the safety net is gone and we know it's going to be a difficult challenge. Kerry are a seasoned team with serious ambition to try and make this year's All-Ireland final. I feel there's a big performance left in our team, it's a matter of us working on the basics, and hopefully things will fall into place for us at Fitzgerald Stadium."

"This particular squad of players have a great ability to pick themselves up from heavy defeats and that indicates to me a real sense of their character collectively. We know we have a huge mountain to climb at the weekend but I'm confident the girls will do their best and as a manager that's all you can ask for," added the Westmeath boss.