Westmeath have ‘no time to rest’ as Galway clash looms
Westmeath hurling manager Joe Fortune admits his team has “no time to rest” as they prepare for a daunting trip to face Henry Shefflin’s Galway in the Kilkenny legend’s home championship debut.
Looking ahead to the Galway fixture (Saturday, Pearse Stadium, 6pm) after the fine display against Kilkenny last weekend, Fortune said: “We have no time to rest. Bodies are sore in there now, and they put an awful lot of physical intensity into that first 35-40 minutes. 'Jogger’ (Tommy Doyle) spoke really well in the circle at the end that sometimes these moral victories lead to a temptation to become a small bit complacent.
"He also spoke about we have to build on that this week, and we have to go down to Salthill and we have to put in another performance. And it’s not just okay to say, well, we did it on our home patch.
“It’s going to be a massive task ahead of us next week. I was proud of them the day we won the league final, and I said it to them in the group, I’m as proud today. But if we could just taper the goal chances out in the last 20 minutes, we would have given ourselves a real chance,” he continued.
The ‘other’ team that wears maroon and white were caught out three years ago for not beating Carlow by ‘enough’ and they will be all-out to bolster their scoring difference which currently stands at zero, after seemingly letting the game slip in a draw with Wexford last Saturday.
The marvellously uplifting Westmeath defending which epitomised the opening 50 minutes against the 33-time All-Ireland champions will need to be replicated. Indeed, even improved upon – and for 76 minutes-odd.
Nobody is expecting a sensational Westmeath win, but another commendable showing would be a huge fillip with arguably the weakest three teams still to play. And whether anyone wants to admit or not, it seems sure to come down to a winner-takes-all game in Portlaoise on May 21.
Seamus ‘Cheddar’ Plunkett’s men showed their worth with a great away display against Dublin, and Westmeath will certainly need to keep the momentum going in Salthill come 6pm on Saturday. One-off ‘moral victories’ are not the way forward for a team with even a modicum of ambition.
Unsurprisingly, Galway have won all of the previous six senior hurling championship games between the counties, as follows:
6/7/1975, Athlone, Galway 6-14, Westmeath 1-8 (All-Ireland quarter-final)
22/7/1984, Birr, Galway 2-17, Westmeath 2-8 (All-Ireland quarter-final)
8/7/2006, Galway, Galway 3-21, Westmeath 0-6 (All-Ireland qualifier)
4/6/2011, Cusack Park, Galway 4-17, Westmeath 2-14 (Leinster SHC)
3/6/2012, Cusack Park, Galway 5-19, Westmeath 4-12 (Leinster SHC)
5/6/2016, TEG Cusack Park, Galway 3-27, Westmeath 0-19 (Leinster SHC).
- Gerry Buckley