‘This is a great opportunity' - Downs manager
Gerry Buckley
After ending a 17-year wait to lift the Flanagan Cup just a few weeks back, the senior footballers from The Downs are now fully focused on the Leinster championship, in which they open their campaign against St Mary’s, Ardee next Sunday in TEG Cusack Park (throw-in 2pm).
The Louth champions won their preliminary round tie against Colmcille from Longford last Sunday week.
Giving his thoughts on Sunday’s provincial quarter-final, The Downs manager Lar Wall said: “We definitely celebrated after defeating St Loman’s, and you have to do that when it was the first time for this group of lads to win a championship. We took the first week off, just to let bodies recover as much as anything else, and went back training then in week two.
“It’s a four-week gap between the Westmeath final and the Ardee game, and we’d have preferred if it was a little bit sooner. But it’s been full steam since we got back and we’re looking forward to Sunday. We can’t wait for it. It’s a great opportunity.”
The Wee County standard-bearers are sure to have done some celebrating themselves, having endured an even longer famine since they won the Joe Ward Cup for the 11th and second last time in 1995. However, in this regard, Wall opined: “They had the Leinster first round a week after winning the Louth title, so they had to cut short their celebrations. Sometimes that momentum and adrenaline from the county final can have a huge effect on you the following week and they got over the line. They will be in good shape for next Sunday after having had a two-week break.”
He continued: “It’s very much a level playing field. Every team going into a Leinster championship is high on confidence and believes that they have a right good chance of progressing.
"We won’t be adjusting our tactics when we play them. I’m a firm believer in playing to your own strengths. It’s essentially winter football and, realistically, it can’t be played at the same tempo as July.
“We have to adapt to that. In fairness, the county final was good preparation for that. They were very difficult conditions and we adapted well. There was a bit of narrative after it that the weather suited us, and I wouldn’t agree, but it certainly suited our hunger. We’d prefer if the weather was better and, hopefully, it won’t be as bad next Sunday.
“We’ll try and play a pretty fast game with a lot of focus on attacking, but you have to be aware of the opposition’s strengths as well, which we are. It will be about who adapts better to the winter game, I would say.”
The Laois native is pleased that his charges have a home draw, but he doesn’t necessarily consider it a huge advantage.
“TEG Cusack Park is not our home pitch as such, but we’ve performed well there this year. It’s been a happy hunting crowd for us this year and that has a benefit. It depends on the crowd as well. We’ll certainly have a big crowd from The Downs. Hopefully, we’ll have a lot of goodwill also from around Westmeath. I’m sure there will be a good crowd travelling from Ardee and from Louth.”
A somewhat unfortunate clash has taken place with the Westmeath squad away in Mexico this week after their Tailteann Cup heroics.
Wall clarified the position of his four Lake County panellists as follows: “Luke (Loughlin) needs a bit of extra training at home and he didn’t travel. Jonathan (Lynam), Charlie (Drumm) and Kevin (O’Sullivan) did. It’s not ideal, but they are fully entitled to their holiday. They are coming back a few days early. We’re hoping to have them in good shape and they’ll coming back raring to go, please God. We won’t be using that as an excuse.
“The key in Leinster is getting a good start by winning a game. Then, who knows what can happen? There is an added incentive with the semi-finals being played in Croke Park,” he concluded.
AIB Leinster Club Senior FC quarter-finals (Sunday, November 6)
Ratoath (Meath) v Rhode (Offaly), Páirc Tailteann, Navan, 2pm, Seamus Mulhare.
The Downs (Westmeath) v Ardee St Mary’s GFC (Louth), TEG Cusack Park, 2pm, John Hickey.
Palatine (Carlow) v Portarlington (Laois), Netwatch Cullen Park, 3pm, Cormac Reilly.
Kilmacud Crokes (Dublin) v Naas (Kildare), Parnell Park, 3:30pm, Anthony Nolan.