Cooney lauds hard-fought win
It is very early in the campaign to be talking about a ‘four-pointer’ in terms of retaining Division 2 status, but the high-profile absentees in both the Westmeath and Clare camps meant that a win last Sunday would be a huge boost to whoever shaded what had been correctly predicted to be a tight game.
Westmeath manager Jack Cooney emphasised this when he opened his post-match media duties as follows: “This was an important two points today. After coming up from Division 3, we said that this was a really good opportunity for us.
“I thought we were in a really good position half way through the second half, but we kind of went into our shell a little bit. It left it very tight coming down the final strait, but I thought the lads showed great character and composure deep into injury-time to work a free and for John (Heslin) to convert it. I think it was a fitting reward, to be honest.”
A brace of very well-taken goals by defenders – both relatively inexperienced – proved to be the key to a first competitive win against the Banner County. Cooney acknowledged the quality of both scores, stating: “The goal by Jack (Smith) was a great score. It was well worked up the pitch. He had a lot to do when he received the final pass, but I thought he slotted it away really well.
“The goal by Anthony (McGivney) in the first half was a fine score also after Ray (Connellan) did great work down through the middle and then drew a few defenders, and slipped it to Anthony who has been in the panel for a couple of years and was excellent today.
“We kicked some great scores, but we just need to do more of that as that type of quality is in the team.”
The Coralstown/Kinnegad man wasn’t surprised by Clare’s final quarter comeback.
“The wind probably died down a bit in the second half, but Clare were holding possession very well. They built a bit of momentum from some of our errors,” he stated. “They are a very experienced team with a great fighting spirit. They are in Division 2 for a number of years.
“They dug deep and relied on that experience. So we were delighted just to get over the line, to be honest. We don’t underestimate how much work we still have to do to stay in this division, but it’s better to have two points on the board and start that work than not to have two points on the board and have to start it. The two points will make training on Tuesday a little bit easier.”
The Lake County’s injury list has mounted since the start of 2020 with Kieran Martin the latest to miss crucial games. In this regard, Cooney opined: “People would have asked at the start of the year how Westmeath would fare without experienced and quality players, but other lads have stood in and taken their opportunity. They will be judged by how they train and perform in matches, and we’re delighted with the effort they are putting in.
“A victory or a draw here and there in this competitive division can mean you are either in one half of the table looking down or in the other half of the table looking up. It’s still early days.”
All roads now lead to Kingspan Breffni Park next Saturday night where Cooney expects another very tough game.
“I expect a huge bounce from Cavan after last night (when they were well beaten by Armagh). Cavan have proven themselves to be a quality team over the last number of years,” Cooney said.
“They’ve been building something really good up there and there’s really good character in that Cavan team.”