2023: A year of football ‘what ifs’ for Westmeath
By Gerry Buckley
If somebody was trying to drive me even madder than I actually am, he/she couldn’t have organised it better than have Kieran McGeeney and his Armagh squad train in Abbotstown last Saturday (on the pitch adjacent to the St Munna’s versus Croydon camogie match), hours ahead of my penning a review of 2023 for Lake County football!
But there they were, in their orange and white finery reminding me of Saturday, May 27 in Box-it Athletic Grounds when Conor Turbitt’s very preventable late goal saw the unbackable home team edge over the line by a point in the first round robin game of the new Sam Maguire Cup format.
Incidentally, some day I must track down the young shop assistant in Ardee where I stopped on my way home with my lady partner for a ‘99’ to cool me down, literally and metaphorically. I was extremely rude to him as he doddered around the ice cream machine. My mood was absolutely foul!
But what if the visiting defence had coped better with an innocuous long ball goalward which led to the decisive goal? Some 22 days later, what if John Heslin’s difficult free had veered inside, rather than outside, the post to eliminate the 2021 champions from Tyrone? Indeed, what if Dessie Dolan’s troops had kept the scoreboard ticking over in the second half against Louth in Navan on April 23?
At U20 level, what if the U20 championship was still knockout, as it had been since its inception, thereby eliminating All-Ireland champions-in-waiting Kildare in their own back yard on March 21? Also, what if Matthew Whittaker had not been injured in the follow-up game against Wexford (to add to a list which also included another great prospect in Sean Leech) ahead of a clash with a very beatable Meath side in the quarter-final?
In the minor grade, where any sort of meaningful progress has eluded Westmeatewh for over a decade, what if Meath’s Ben Corkery was prevented from scoring even one of his brace of goals in the first round robin game in Kinnegad?
There were a lot of positives in 2023, but the bottom line is that it will be a struggle to gain a spot in the Sam Maguire Cup in 2024. Also, the genuine ‘hard luck’ stories for Damien Gavin at U20 level will need to be turned around with what seems to be a weaker panel than the year just ending.
Similarly, Eoghan Kevlihan has his work cut out to improve Westmeath's dismal minor record. We can only wish all three managers well. My annual personal thoughts on some matters follow.
Senior Footballer of the Year: Ronan O’Toole (St Loman’s, Mullingar). O’Toole was a worthy All Star nominee and can’t have been far away from Roscommon’s Enda Smith in the voting for a surprise selection in the forward line. For club and county throughout the year, he consistently looked a quality attacker.
Most Improved Senior Footballer: David Lynch (St Malachy’s). Despite being a regular starter under no less than four Westmeath bainisteoirs, 2023 was the year that Lynch’s worth to the side really shone through, with the aforementioned game in Armagh perhaps his finest 70-plus minutes in maroon and white.
Young Footballer of the Year: Brían Cooney (Coralstown/Kinnegad). Coming from a family which has contributed enormously to Westmeath football for several decades, Cooney excelled in an unlucky U20 county team, in addition to contributing handsomely to his club’s march to the Flanagan Cup final.
Most Disappointing Senior Football Performance: The scoreboard at the final whistle in Ederney on March 18 had the home team ahead by the narrowest of margins but, in truth, those of us present will vouch that Fermanagh were significantly better on an afternoon when Westmeath's Allianz Football League Division 3 promotion hopes ended.
Best Senior Football Performance: A draw – which was agonisingly close to being a win – against 2021 All-Ireland champions Tyrone, in what was effectively a knockout championship game, clearly demonstrated to Gaels nationwide that Westmeath football is quite close to the top table.
Best Underage Football Performance: The dismay on the faces of Lilywhite fans in attendance was clearly visible in Hawkfield on March 21 after Westmeath U20s had defeated their hosts by two clear goals. However, the winning manager and some of his selectors will testify that my parting words were ominous: “The only negative about tonight is that Kildare are still in it.” And of course, Kildare went on to win the Leinster and All-Ireland titles.
Most Disappointing Underage Football Performance: Despite a two-goal defeat at the hands of Meath in round one, there was still optimism in the Westmeath minor camp ahead of a trip to Ardee, with Westmeath's underage record against Louth quite strong over the years. President Joe Biden was in Louth that day, but from a football perspective, it was an eminently forgettable evening for visiting fans.
Westmeath, league and championship results in football for 2023 follow below.
NFL Division 3
29/1/2023, TEG Cusack Park, Cavan 0-12 Westmeath 1-6
5/2/2023, Longford, Westmeath 4-16 Longford 0-9
19/2/2023, TEG Cusack Park, Westmeath 2-12 Offaly 0-12
25/2/2023, Newry, Down 1-10 Westmeath 0-11
5/3/2023, TEG Cusack Park, Westmeath 4-27 Antrim 0-8
18/3/2023, Ederney, Fermanagh 0-15 Westmeath 2-8
26/3/2023, TEG Cusack Park, Westmeath 1-13 Tipperary 0-10.
Leinster SFC
23/4/2023, Navan, Louth 2-10 Westmeath 1-11.
Sam Maguire Cup
27/5/2023, Athletic Grounds, Armagh 1-13 Westmeath 1-12
3/6/2023, TEG Cusack Park, Galway 0-20 Westmeath 0-12
18/6/2023, Cavan, Tyrone 0-18 Westmeath 0-18.
Leinster MFC
5/4/2023, Kinnegad, Meath 2-10 Westmeath 0-10
12/4/2023, Ardee, Louth 2-13 Westmeath 0-7
26/4/2023, Parnell Park, Dublin 4-19 Westmeath 2-12
10/5/2023, Longford, Longford 1-15 Westmeath 3-7 (Heaney Cup).
Leinster U20 FC
21/3/2023, Hawkfield, Westmeath 2-10 Kildare 0-10
4/4/2023, Lakepoint Park, Westmeath 1-16 Wexford 1-9
11/4/2023, Ashbourne, Meath 0-8 Westmeath 1-3.