Next Sunday is pivotal to both county sides’ promotion hunt

“Dublin looked very ordinary last night, maybe Leinster is winnable again, and sure we have as good a chance as any county.”

Yours truly loudly and excitedly proclaimed these words to a colleague in the TEG Cusack Park press box circa 1.55pm last Sunday. Come 2.13pm, I whispered: “Please disregard that earlier prediction!” Indeed, I strongly suspect that many local fans, thrilled to be back in situ watching Jack Cooney’s men in an unrestricted setting, were longing for a much-maligned water break at that juncture – with perhaps something stronger added to the water!

With most commentators honing in recently on the Lake County’s ‘unlucky relegation’ from Division 2 in 2021, there seemed to be inflated air of expectancy in and around Mullingar last Sunday morning. However, every inter-county player plays with pride in their jersey and Wicklow, now under the tutelage of Cooney’s predecessor Colin Kelly, were never coming to Westmeath to bow down without a fight.

As it transpired, the home team eventually got to grips with the Garden County challenge and were worthy winners by a five-point margin. Indeed, this concise summary from a more level-headed fellow-scribe on Sunday night pretty much sums up the game: “Not a great performance, but a good win given the circumstances including the early loss of Kevin Maguire, a key man in defence. We’ll take it, but there are a lot of things to be concerned about and a repeat showing won’t be good enough next week.”

‘Next week’ is now only five days away and a relatively short journey to MW Hire O’Moore Park. With an O’Byrne Cup final appearance and an opening away win v Louth in the NFL under their belt, Laois, now managed by Billy Sheehan, have started 2022 in a manner which shows they are keen to move on from an on-field annus horribilis last year, which included a 16-point hammering at the hands of Westmeath in Tullamore in the Leinster championship and a relegation from Division 2.

The truncated leagues in 2021 meant that Westmeath and Laois did not meet, but they have been regular opponents in recent years in both the championship and league. Remarkably, given the counties’ geographical proximity, the first league meeting was as relatively recent as 1971.

In all, the sides have met 17 times and a Westmeath win in Portlaoise (throw-in 2pm) would balance the books nicely, as Laois currently edge the head-to-head 9-8. Strangely – and encouragingly from a Westmeath perspective – six of those eight wins have come in the last seven clashes.

The winning team next Sunday – and a draw can’t be ruled out – will be firm favourites to play second tier football in 2023. The losers will be under early pressure in what looks set to be a very competitive division.

The teams and scorers from last year’s 3-20 to 1-10 win for Westmeath in the Leinster SFC in Bord na Mona O’Connor Park were:

Scorers – Westmeath: L Dolan 1-3 (0-1f), J Heslin (3f) and G Egan 0-5 each, D Corroon 1-1, D Lynch 1-0, R O’Toole 0-3, J Dolan, T McDaniel and D Giles 0-1 each. Laois: D Kingston 0-6 (5f), E O’Carroll 1-0, C Murphy 0-3 (1m), E Lowry 0-1.

Westmeath: Jason Daly; Boidu Sayeh, Kevin McGuire, Jamie Gonoud; James Dolan, Ronan Wallace, Sam McCartan; Sam Duncan, Denis Corroon; Ray Connellan, Ronan O’Toole, David Lynch; Lorcan Dolan, John Heslin, Ger Egan. Subs used: Jack Smith for Sayeh (h-t), Fola Ayorinde for Connellan (48), Tommy McDaniel for Heslin (61), Darren Giles for Corroon (63), Noel Mulligan for Gonoud (65).

Laois: Niall Corbet; Trevor Collins, Gareth Dillon, Seamus Lacey; Patrick O’Sullivan, Colm Begley, Daniel O’Reilly; Kieran Lillis, John O’Loughlin; Evan O’Carroll, Eoin Lowry, Colm Murphy; Sean Byrne, Donal Kingston, Paul Kingston. Subs used: Mark Barry for Murphy (49), Finbarr Crowley for O’Loughlin (54), Mark Timmons for Byrne (56), Diarmuid Whelan for Lowry (57), Ross Munnelly for P Kingston (57).

In hurling, the geographical converse applies in that despite Kerry being just about as far away as is possible from Westmeath on our little island, the men in the famous green and gold jerseys have squared up to maroon and white-clad opponents on a whopping 42 occasions in the league since they first met in 1965. With a record of 23 wins, four draws, and 15 defeats, the Lake County hold the upper-hand, but all that will count for nothing when Stephen Molumphy brings his troops to TEG Cusack Park next Sunday (throw-in 12.30pm).

All reports suggest that the former Waterford star has brought his army discipline with him to the Kingdom. A first-ever competitive win against Tipperary in recent weeks, regardless of the competition being the pre-season Munster Hurling Cup, was a massive shot in the arm for the small ball game in a county where the big ball is king. Shane Conway et al will prove very difficult opposition for Joe Fortune’s charges, albeit the garnering of the Kehoe Cup in Carlow last Sunday was a fine start for the Wexford native in his new role.

His predecessor Shane O’Brien won a much more noteworthy piece of silverware in his final year in charge, the Joe McDonagh Cup win ensuring a slot in the Liam MacCarthy Cup for Westmeath later this year. The latter will undoubtedly be tough going for the Lake County and it is imperative that it is preceded by a series of outstanding league performances in Division 2A, ideally culminating in promotion.

The teams and scorers in the aforementioned tier two championship final, won by Westmeath on a scoreline of 2-28 to 1-24 in Croke Park last July, were:

Scorers – Westmeath: N Mitchell 1-4, K Doyle 0-6 (3fs), D Glennon 0-5, C Doyle 1-2, R Greville 0-4, N O’Brien (1f) and A Clarke 0-2 each, J Boyle, A Craig and D McNicholas (f) 0-1 each. Kerry: P Boyle 0-7 (3fs), M Boyle 1-3, S Conway 0-4 (2fs, 1s/l), C Hussey 0-3, S Nolan and B O’Mahony 0-2 each, J Diggins, C O’Keeffe and D Collins 0-1 each.

Westmeath: Noel Conaty; Darragh Egerton, Tommy Gallagher, Conor Shaw; Aaron Craig, Tommy Doyle, Aonghus Clarke; Cormac Boyle, Robbie Greville; Davy Glennon, Killian Doyle, Joey Boyle; Ciaran Doyle, Niall O'Brien, Niall Mitchell. Subs used: Shane Clavin for C Boyle (48), Josh Coll for C Doyle (55), Derek McNicholas for K Doyle (62), Shane Williams for O’Brien (67), Darragh Clinton for J Boyle (70).

Kerry: John B O’Halloran; Eric Leen, Evan Murphy, Conor O’Keeffe; Jason Diggins, Fionn Mackessy, Tomas O’Connor; Paudie O’Connor, Shane Nolan; Mikey Boyle, Daniel Collins, Barry O’Mahony; Padraig Boyle, Shane Conway, Cian Hussey. Subs used: Mikey Leane for P O'Connor (h-t), Bryan Murphy for T O’Connor (43), Maurice O’Connor for O’Mahony (54).

– Gerry Buckley