Ladies all set for Wexford showdown says Coyle

Westmeath ladies captain Fiona Coyle is confident that the team has put the disappointment of their league campaign behind them, and are more than ready for their Leinster intermediate final meeting with Wexford. The sides meet at Cedral St Conleth's Park, Newbridge on Saturday at 3.30pm.

“We’ve just stayed really, really consistent. We've trained really hard,” said the St Mary’s, Rochfortbridge woman.

That training more than paid dividends recently when they saw off Laois on a 5-12 to 0-4 scoreline, with the emphatic nature of the victory giving the team a lift following their relegation from NFL Division 2.

That said, she’s not underestimating the difficulty of the task ahead: “Look, we've met Wexford now on a couple of occasions and it's always a really, really tough battle,” she says.

“They're a really, really decent side, some physical players and really good attacking forwards up front. We're just going to have to be ready for that.”

Recent training has seen Westmeath focus a lot on tackling and attacking play, and Fiona believes a lot of the heavy lifting this Saturday will fall on the shoulders of the girls up front – who are, she adds, well up to the task.

“They're great workers. But it's actually their work off the ball [that will make the difference]. They do an awful lot of work in tackling and turning the ball over, which makes life an awful lot easier down the back.”

Defensively, there have been some changes made to the side over the past twelve months, but the side has worked hard on its defensive structure and coming out fast with the ball.

“At the minute, we're missing the likes of Sarah Murphy and Sandra McQuaid. But they're chipping back at training now. Hopefully, we'll see them back on the field really soon,” Fiona says.

On what is truly an action-packed weekend for Westmeath sports fans, with the men’s team facing Dublin in the Leinster final on Sunday, and the ladies’ clash against Wexford the previous day, Fiona hopes the excitement will bring the supporters out.

“Hopefully, we'll see a scene of maroon and white out to support both teams,” she says.