No luck of the draw for Westmeath minors either
Maybe somebody in the Westmeath football fraternity has run over a black cat or something!
In any case, Lady Luck again deserted Westmeath when it came to the draw for this year's revised Electric Ireland Leinster Minor Football Championship. The Lake County minors (the grade is now under-17) have been drawn against the winners of the opening round clash between Dublin and Meath.
Under the management of Joe Giles, Westmeath claimed a famous win over Meath (after extra-time) in last year's Leinster quarter-final. Westmeath's hopes for provincial glory were ended at the semi-final stage by Dublin (Westmeath team pictured above). Kildare went on to defeat the Dubs in the 2019 Leinster final.
The difficult draw for the minors comes hot on the heels of confirmation that Westmeath must meet All-Ireland champions Dublin in a Leinster senior championship quarter-final with no 'back door' in place.
Given that Dublin have won the last five All-Ireland titles - and haven't lost a championship game since a defeat to Donegal in 2014 - the chances of a Westmeath win are rated as somewhere between extremely slim and none.
Westmeath's minor championship meeting with either Dublin or Meath is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, October 28. Meath and Dublin will meet on the weekend of October 17/18.
Meanwhile, Westmeath will meet Carlow in the first round of the Electric Ireland Leinster MHC, with the winners advancing to face Dublin in the quarter-finals.
Both the Leinster MFC and MHC will be run on a straight knockout basis. Venues for all fixtures are to be confirmed at a later stage.
2020 Electric Ireland Leinster MFC
Round 1 (October 17/18)
Dublin v Meath
Wexford v Louth
Longford v Wicklow
Quarter-finals (October 28)
Kildare v Wexford or Louth
Offaly v Longford or Wicklow
Dublin or Meath v Westmeath
Laois v Carlow
Semi-finals (November 7)
Kildare/Wexford/Louth v Offaly/Longford/Wicklow
Dublin/Meath/Westmeath v Laois or Carlow
Leinster MFC final: November 18.
2020 Electric Ireland Leinster MHC
Round 1 (October 17/18)
Offaly v Laois
Westmeath v Carlow
Antrim v Kildare
Quarter-finals (October 24/25)
Offaly or Laois v Antrim or Kildare
Dublin v Westmeath or Carlow
Semi-finals (October 31/November 1)
Offaly/Laois/Antrim/Kildare v Dublin/Westmeath/Carlow
Kilkenny v Wexford
Leinster MHC final: November 15.