Offaly was always going to be important. It is now likely to be a do-or-die battle.Those were the words I finished last weeks piece with. I don’t think it went any different than what a lot of people thought it would, sadly. It was a defeat A frustrating one, especially since we played literally the entire game – bar 25-seconds at the start before Sampson was sent-off – against fourteen men.
Then again, it was unlikely that the morale boost needed by Westmeath was really going to come against our near-neighbours who are, themselves, continuing the fight-back against a tide of struggles in recent times. Next up is a trip to Rubane in Co. Down where St Joseph’s, Ballycran, will host our tussle with the Mourne men. Thankfully – and I say that with a slight sigh – Meath are unlikely to beat anybody in this competition, so other than three wins in the remaining fixtures coincided with some Pythagoras-style mathematics in other games, we will survive in the McDonagh Cup without promotion or relegation.
