Heslin injury the main concern as Dolan looks ahead
John Heslin is Westmeath's main injury worry ahead of the Leinster SFC, team manager Dessie Dolan revealed after last Sunday's victory over Tipperary.
Attacking ace Heslin didn't feature against Tipperary and the Westmeath camp will be hoping he'll be fully fit for the showdown with Louth on Sunday, April 23.
"The concern for us is John Heslin. In fairness to John, he doesn't get injured too often but he's struggling a little bit at the minute. It has to be a serious enough injury for John not to play because he's so committed to Westmeath. We'll assess that and there are a couple of other lads with knocks," said Dolan.
"At the end of a gruelling enough league, the lads need a bit of time to recuperate and then we'll go at it for the championship."
Reflecting on the Allianz Football League Division 3 contest against Tipperary, Dolan said: "There is always a little bit of a breeze in Cusack Park and we were against it in the first half. Maybe it's the story of our league a little bit - we're trying very hard and there's lots of endeavour but just that final pass let us down a couple of times in the first half. Going down a man didn't make the situation any better. We talked about it at half-time and figured it out.
"In terms of a performance in the second half , you'd have to happy with the way they adapted given the conditions and the circumstances that were in front of them. They showed a bit of class in the end to get the right result and there were lots of good scores. It's James Dolan's birthday today and it would be nice to score that goal, but a great save from the Tipperary goalie."
The game's only goal actually came from Lorcan Dolan, who availed of what his manager described as "a fluky pass". Dessie said: "Luke (Loughlin) miskicked and it ended up going straight to Lorcan. The funny thing about Lorcan is that he might be quiet for a while but when he gets the ball in his hands close to goal, he's absolutely lethal. I was glad to see the ball hitting the net; it relieved the pressure a little bit. The lads showed their experience and know-how in the second half."
Considering the injury problems they have endured during the league campaign, Dolan was pleased that defenders Jack Smith and Jamie Gonoud saw action off the bench.
"It was good to have those boys back - we missed them during the league," he said.
There are places up for grabs ahead of the Louth match. We know that is going to be a very difficult assignment. They're going well and are playing with confidence at the minute. We know it will be a tough test and we have work to do," added the Westmeath manager.