Tom Cribbin paid tribute to the self-belief brimming through his Westmeath side after they fought back from a six-point deficit against Kildare at Croke Park to record a 1-12 to 1-11 victory and they set up a Leinster decider against Dublin.
Westmeath’s resolve has been evident for some time.
The Lake County recorded a first win in their history over Meath in last season’s championship when they battled back from what looked a hopeless position when they trailed by ten points.
Westmeath manager Tom Cribbin, who was born in Laois but has called Kildare home for most of his life, admitted: “It’s incredible to get back to another Leinster final.
“Things didn’t go well early in the year, but to be able to put that behind us and build on our character that we learned from last year meant an awful lot to us, and I was delighted for the players.
“It’s only our fifth time to get to a Leinster final - last year and this year being two - and the lads doing it back-to-back, its a habit you can get used to if you get the players to start believing that they should be there and have a right to be there as much as any other team.
“I think that’s what pulled them through in the end - just belief in themselves.”
“I’m drained physically and mentally after that, and emotionally too, because it’s never nice beating your own”
Cribbin also confessed that his charges may very well only know how to play one brand of football, and that the shackles came off when their prospects of victory looked doomed.
“We were eight points down last year and we came back in the second half,” the Clane clubman said.
“I think we expressed ourselves more. I think when we went behind, instead of playing cautiously we started to go at them.
“We just have to go at a team, unfortunately. That’s probably the best we play - when we go at a team.”
Cribbin also conceded that facing his native county had taken a toll, adding: “I’m drained physically and mentally after that, and emotionally too, because it’s never nice beating your own.”
A jubilant Ray Connellan, who helped Westmeath overhaul their deficit, said: “It’s an unbelievable feeling in Croke Park, getting a win like that. You can’t really rival it.”
The victory was a first over Kildare in the Championship since 1960 and Connellan and his team-mates are enjoying rewriting record books on a regular basis.
“Ever year there seems to be another piece of history that we’re writing and that’s what we’re going for now,” he said.
“We’re going to try and go one better and win the final now.”
