The absence of Jamie Gonoud for the upcoming Leinster Senior Football Championship against Laois is undoubtedly a significant blow for Westmeath manager, Jack Cooney, after last year’s heavy defeat against the same opposition.
Both Gonoud and Finbar Coyne have suffered cruciate ligament injuries, putting a blemish on what has been a hugely positive start to the season for Westmeath, who have won both the O’Byrne Cup and Division 3 titles.
The O’Moore County were 4-13 to 1-12 winners in the corresponding clash one year ago, and while Cooney has made good progress this season, there will be concern that one of his most experienced players is ruled out of this year’s crucial clash, the winners of which is likely to face Meath in the semi-final.
Meath are in the same section as Offaly, and Carlow and will be expected to take care of both opponents and a clash with the Royals at Croke Park – which is now the big target – will represent a major challenge for Cooney’s Westmeath side.
This year’s performances have been encouraging and Westmeath recovered very well from a draw against Carlow in the second round of the league, and an away defeat by Down, to qualify for the final, when they defeated Laois by 1-13 to 0-13.
While the loss of Gonoud leaves Cooney short in defence, Milltownpass star Coyne is also ruled out with the same injury and that limits Westmeath’s options in attack. They will hope that John Heslin continues his progress, while the consistent form of Ger Egan is one of the many positives for Westmeath.
Cooney is delighted with how his side has performed since the start of the year and feels league success is no more than their efforts deserve, which makes the task of cranking things up another level for the Leinster Championship somewhat easier.
“It rewards all the hard work that the lads have put in. It’s easy to associate one with the other now – hard work makes progress and it’s great to make that progress,” he remarked.
All County Football League
Meanwhile, April is a club only month on the GAA calendar and next weekend’s round of All County Football Leagues will be very interesting in Westmeath. Mullingar Shamrocks need to win at home against table toppers Tang on Saturday and will surely look to county stars Denis Corroon and Killian Daly for inspiration.
St Loman’s, Mullingar, travel south on to take on Garrycastle on Saturday, and Heslin will be expected to play a part for Luke Dempsey’s side, who squeezed past Athlone in the previous round and are still in contention for a semi-final spot. Sean Flanagan is another key county man.
Garrycastle are in fine form as their impressive victory over Athlone (1-11 to 0-4) illustrates and the performances of Alex Gardiner in attack have impressed many.
Rosemount, who beat Tyrrellspass by 10 points last time out, are also very much in contention and Boidu Sayeh is expected to feature prominently when they take on The Downs next Friday evening.
The controversial en-counter between Mullin-gar Shamrocks and Coralstown/Kinnegad is still being dealt with by disciplinary chiefs in Westmeath, but the game may not be re-fixed. Both sides are struggling to maintain pace in the competitive division and these league points could well be crucial in the overall scheme of things.
Coralstown/Kinnegad are seventh on just three points and they face Shandonagh (away) next Sunday morning. Mullingar Shamrocks are in eighth position on just two points ahead of Saturday’s encounter with Tang. Athlone and Tyrrellspass are propping up the top division and their clash on Saturday is crucial for both sides.
While April is reserved for club activity, there is concern in some Westmeath clubs that county players are not being made available for all club games during the month. The matter is expected to be raised at this week’s County Board meeting.
Disciplinary issues
Elsewhere, Westmeath GAA is continuing to struggle with disciplinary issues this season and last Sunday’s All County Hurling League Division 1 clash between Castlepollard and Brownstown proved controversial. Both Niall Leonard (Brownstown) and Darren McCormack (Castlepollard) received red cards in separate incidents, while a mentor entered the field and got involved during another flashpoint.
Issues relating to other games are ongoing at present and no final decisions have been reached, but it is a growing problem for Westmeath.
