Westmeath’s hopes rise as Cats’ scan goes well
Yours truly has a regular handy gig from a leading bookmaking firm whose representative rings me for the entire duration of a game and merely need details of each score as the game unfolds, and other incidentals such as when a scoreable free has been awarded.
A few years ago I did this gig at a Sigerson Cup game in Belfield and, with the game going very much in the opposite direction to what the bookies and Joe Public would have expected, the chap at the end of the phone asked me was I sure that the teams were not wearing the wrong jerseys! Indeed, with the exception of one or two household names on view, I may not have known if the caller had a point.
As it transpired, the hot favourites eventually clicked into gear and won with a bit to spare. I was on duty for the bookies’ gig last Thursday in Parnell Park and two evenings later in TEG Cusack Park, and with Westmeath U20 footballers seven points to the good at half-time against Dublin in the former, and the Lake County senior hurlers four points ahead against Kilkenny after 23 minutes, I was expecting queries from the caller as to whether I was mixing up the teams, thereby completely messing up the ‘odds-in-running’ so vital nowadays to turf accountants.
Sadly, of course, the near-unbackable favourites went on to dominate both second halves, the Metropolitans winning by 1-10 to 0-1 and the Cats by 4-11 to 1-7. With a 20 euro stake (with a different bookmaking firm!) on Damien Gavin’s charges at 7/2, I was feeling quite smug in Donnycarney at around 8pm, the usual gambler’s greed (and, thank God, I am a small and steady gambler) setting in as I regretted that my stake wasn’t larger. Unfortunately, after a really superb first half display, no on-field leaders put their hands up in a depressing second moiety in Parnell Park and, with the U20 grade in both codes being the only remaining knockout competitions in the GAA’s calendar, Gavin’s talented crew have exited the championship.
Conversely, the minor grade gives U17s several chances to regroup after a setback and our minor hurlers had a number of leaders when they looked in real trouble in Fenagh at the start of the second half on Saturday morning against the Barrowsiders. The deserved reward is a 12 noon preliminary quarter-final game against Laois in Mullingar next Saturday.
Incidentally, Carlow is the latest county that I have visited which has splendid training facilities, unlike You-Know-Where slap bang in the middle of the midlands! I won’t always be whinging about this, sure I won’t?
This early throw-in will give Gaels a chance to head to Salthill for the seniors’ second round robin match in the race for the Bob O’Keeffe Cup. In truth, Westmeath’s heroics against Brian Cody’s highly-vaunted troops deserve a kinder draw than a daunting trip to face Henry Shefflin’s Tribesmen in the Kilkenny legend’s home championship debut.
When asked to look ahead to the fixture after the fine display against the Marble County, team manager Joe Fortune opined: “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’ (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. But look, I keep emphasising – I’m proud of them today. 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.”
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. ‘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 6 pm 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)