An incredible victory for Westmeath hurlers

The Extra Mile - Examiner's eye on sport, by Damien Maher

The unpredictability of sport means it can deliver huge shocks and generate great emotion. Last Sunday was just one of those days for hurling fans in Westmeath.

The senior hurling side travelled to Chadwicks Wexford Park as no-hopers to take on Wexford in the Leinster senior hurling championship, a county they had not beaten at this level since 1940. The Lake County, managed by Wexford native Joe Fortune, had endured some heavy defeats by the likes of Galway and Kilkenny before Sunday; things were looking very bleak when they trailed by 16 points at the break and by 17 points at an early stage of the second half.

But then came a sensational fight back. Niall Mitchell, who has been injured for most of the year, was introduced as a substitute and went on to score two remarkable goals as Westmeath staged perhaps the greatest ever comeback in hurling - certainly their best ever - to win by 4-18 to 2-22.

There were memorable scenes on the pitch afterwards as hurling fans from this passionate county celebrated. Hurling has often suffered as the poor relation in Westmeath, but this was their greatest day, surpassing what has been achieved in Croke Park in the Christy Ring and Joe McDonagh Cups.

This was Wexford, a big traditional hurling county, in the Leinster championship and Westmeath stepped up to the challenge in the second half to cause one of the biggest shocks in hurling history. If they win next Sunday against Antrim, Westmeath will definitely retain their MacCarthy Cup status: if Wexford lose against Kilkenny, they face the ignominy of relegation to the McDonagh Cup for 2024.

Matty Conaty has been involved in hurling in Westmeath for over 40 years and he has never experienced a result as significant as Sunday’s win.

“At half-time no one would have given us any chance, to be fair, but when we scored 1-4 without reply in the second half, you sensed something special could happen. We blocked and hooked with tremendous spirit and our work rate was outstanding. The substitutes introduced played a key part and it was just amazing to witness,” he said.

“We got 2-3 from players who came on: that’s remarkable. Niall Mitchell got two wonderful goals. Peter Clarke was excellent and Derek McNicholas also chipped in with scores. Some observers will point to Wexford collapsing, but Westmeath were superb.

“It’s the best day ever from a hurling perspective in Westmeath and it can certainly give the game the boost we all hope for. Next Sunday is a huge day for the county and I hope we see a great crowd in TEG Cusack Park to support this team.”

Conaty’s son Noel made a crucial save from a penalty in the second half, so it was a proud day for a Collinstown family steeped in hurling.

“It’s wonderful. We have stayed up in Division 1 hurling and will be back in the MacCarthy Cup if we get the right result next weekend. It has been a positive year, overall, with the under 20 hurlers playing very well in Leinster: they just lost to Wexford in the quarter-final, a team that then went on to beat Kilkenny.

“The game is growing and this is the result we needed.”

PROUD DAY

Another Westmeath hurling fanatic, Bernie Comaskey was thrilled with the victory.

“Ironically, Wexford were regarded as having the greatest comeback of all time when coming from 15 points down against Tipperary in the league final,” he noted. While thrilled, he stressed the significance of next weekend and while we rejoice now, that remains a very relevant point.

Before Sunday, there were some signs of hurling progress in recent times and of course, the team drew with Wexford last year in TEG Cusack Park. Westmeath minors defeated Wexford eight years ago at the same venue when the Doyle twins, Ciaran and Killian shot the lights out. Then-manager, Johnny Greville, is now part of the senior set-up under Fortune.

The under 20 hurlers were a breath of fresh air this year and manager Andrew Dermody got a terrific response from his players. It all points to signs of progress and Hurling Committee chairman, Willie Murphy is proud of what has been achieved.

“My son, Killian, was with me at the game. ‘I’m still in shock’, he said to me afterwards. It was that kind of a day, just unbelievable,” recalled Murphy, who reserved special praise for goal scoring hero Niall Mitchell.

“The performance of Niall Mitchell was just amazing: he’s a big man, great in the air and someone with a real goal-scoring threat. He’s a passionate hurling man, too, and even though he was injured for a lot of the year, he was at training urging the other players on. He’s a great guy.”

BIG IMPRESSION

Mitchell’s mercurial talent is one of the main reasons why Westmeath caused a shock of seismic proportions on Sunday. The dual star shone for The Downs last year and is the one player in the county at present who could play both codes at senior level: in fact, his aerial threat is something Dessie Dolan could sorely do with as he faces into the All-Ireland series.

“We saw in last year’s senior football championship how good he is for The Downs: he’s a wonderful talent. Wexford were marking him very tightly on Sunday and he still managed to get his hands on the ball to score those two goals. Brilliant,” he observed.

Murphy recalled how Mitchell’s father, Noel played with Castlepollard in his playing days, having moved to Westmeath following a stint in America. The Offaly native made a big impression and Murphy isn’t surprised that Niall has followed in his father’s footsteps.

Gerry Buckley, on duty for the Westmeath Examiner on Sunday, said it was a wonderful day to be in Wexford Park.

“It was unreal: the late Ned Flynn used to say to me, ‘keep taking the tablets’, when I’d rave about Westmeath in hurling or football. And at half-time on Sunday, if you had suggested to someone Westmeath could win, that’s the kind of answer you would have rightly received! But it’s brilliant and I’m still buzzing, to be honest.”

It’s now on to TEG Cusack Park next Sunday when Westmeath take on Antrim in the final round of this year’s Leinster senior hurling championship. A great occasion is in prospect. And don’t worry if it looks bad at any stage - this team will not consider any scenario a hopeless one given their truly remarkable recovery last Sunday.

Handball success

It's wonderful to see continued success for Westmeath in the sport of handball. We all know how good Robbie McCarthy is, but his sister, Aoife has emerged as a great talent and enjoyed a wonderful success as she won the ladies national softball title at the impressive Mullingar venue which hosted the event. It’s the first time siblings have achieved such a feat, so history hae been made in Mullingar. Ace.