Westmeath’s Leinster Minor League campaign ended on a bitterly disappointing note at Killucan GAA grounds last Saturday, where an impressive Dublin side overpowered the Lake County on a 26-point margin.
It was Dublin’s first team and this was their first day together as a unit. They were keen to impress manager, Paddy Christie and they produced a high energy display that left Westmeath in their wake. Indeed, the gap between the sides on the day was alarming and Westmeath manager, Aidan Lennon faces an almighty challenge to lift his charges for the Leinster Championship on 18 April against Wexford (in Cusack Park, Mullingar).
This result means Westmeath finished their Leinster League campaign in third spot behind Dublin and Offaly, with Limerick propping up the table.
At half-time last Saturday, Dublin led by 5-7 to 0-6 after they had totally dominated the first half exchanges. The level of urgency in Dublin’s play was way ahead of what Westmeath offered and the visitors’ handling and use of the ball was vastly superior also. The home side certainly had a bad day at the office, but there were a number of players absent through injury (including Ronan O’Toole, Daire Hynes, Thomas O’Rourke, Joe Halligan and Sam Duncan) and the task now is to build for the championship in just over six weeks.
