Westmeath v Louth, Mullingar, Sunday, 7.00pm
By Séamus Leonard
Revenge will be on the agenda at Cusack Park on Saturday evening when Westmeath seek to atone for events earlier this summer.
The Lakesmen looked all set to book a place in the Leinster quarter-finals until a last-gasp goal from Louth debutant Daniel O’Connor clinched victory for the Wee County.
However, that win was somewhat soured when Louth went on to face Dublin at Croke Park and came away licking their wounds after a 16-point loss to the defending All-Ireland champions.
Louth may have wished at some stage that they could play Westmeath every week, such is the impressive record they have in recent meetings.
The two sides have met a number of times in competitive situations in the past couple of seasons and Louth have continually come out on top.
But the Wee men’s preparations have been severely disrupted by injury, emigration and club matches.
And they may also have to travel to Mullingar without manager Peter Fitzpatrick after he suffered a health scare. LMFM has reported that the TD was rushed to hospital with suspected kidney stones, and may not be in a position to travel to Cusack Park.
Fitzpatrick had been in the news recently when he went public in an appeal to the Louth County Board to give some “leeway” as regards club fixtures.
The former Louth captain said that low numbers forced them to call off challenge games, and he said that one night only four players were available for training.
The 2010 Leinster finalists are still sweating on the availability of Paddy Keenan, Mark Brennan, Gerard Hoey, Jamie Carr and Ronan Carroll.
Even if all, or even the majority, of that quintet recover in time, the uncertainty surrounding so many players cannot have helped Louth formulate a game plan.
While Westmeath may have lost the Leinster encounter in Navan, they have also had a long time to analyse and correct what went wrong in that game.
But they have also had their own problems, with former All-Star Dessie Dolan ruling out any involvement with the county this summer as he plans to spend time in Boston before returning to his teaching job in September.
Goalkeeper Gary Connaughton had also planned spend the summer by the River Charles, but he is back in Ireland after he broke his ankle in his first club game for Wolfe Tones over in the US.
Darren Quinn has been selected in goal by Westmeath, while Michael Ennis has been given the captaincy in Dolan’s absence.
Ennis told the Westmeath Topic that the Midlanders had set a target to make the home ground a “fortress”, and three wins from four league games in Allianz Football League Division 2 would suggest they are difficult to beat in their own back yard.
They may also have the edge in terms of confidence, as they have had time to put their provincial woes behind them. Louth, on the other hand, may well be still licking their wounds over their chastening experience against Dublin.
Verdict: Westmeath
