Dubs need to focus on Louth after final defeat

THE Dublin Senior Footballers were defeated by Westmeath in the Leinster Senior Football Final in Croke Park last weekend by eight points after the game saw extra time played on Sunday afternoon.

Westmeath started off the stronger of the two sides however the first real blow for the Dubs came with the injury to Peadar O Cofaigh Byrne who was forced off the pitch inside of the opening quarter after a nasty fall.

With the loss of such a physical presence in midfield, Dublin’s inability to compete for kickouts would be on full display for the remainder of the contest.

Despite the setback however they competed well in the first half and found themselves with a narrow but not undeserved two point lead at half time with the score reading 0-11 to 0-09.

Captained by Templeogue Synge Street’s Niall Scully, Dublin were down for the majority of the first half though had looked to have stolen the game right as the final whistle approached.

In all fairness, a loss for Westmeath in that manner would have been unfortunate after the side had led the vast majority of the second half, at times by margins of three and four points.

Indeed it was certainly their day and as they made their way down the pitch to level with the Dubs with 30 seconds or so remaining on the clock, the roar of their fans and the exuberant displays from their players certainly made it known who the momentum was with.

Now with the scores tied at 0-22 to 0-22 apiece the game was called into extra time where it was clear which team had the staying power.

Westmeath started strongly with Dublin unable to get the ball out of their own half, losing every kickout and conceding four points in rapid time.

This was then followed by a goal after an Evan Comerford in the Dublin net mistimed a punched clearance and saw the ball dipped over his head and into the back of the net.

That goal brought the difference between the teams to seven points though, goal or not Dublin did not look like they were capable of competing at this stage.

More points and a further goal would see Dublin’s defeat cemented with a 0-26 to 2-28 scoreline.

Stand-in manager Dean Rock spoke after the game.

“Westmeath are full value for the victory, they outran us in the extra time period and the better team won on the day.

‘Our lads showed a lot of resolve to come back from being 0-21 to 0-18 down to bring it to extra time but ultimately we just never got to the pitch of it in extra time.”

“It’ll take a couple of days for lads to get over this game, first from a physical and then a mental perspective.

‘They are a resilient bunch and showed it throughout the year and we’ll have to do it again and be back here putting in a better performance in two weeks time.”

Dublin play Louth in a weeks time at Croke Park in a rematch of the Leinster semi-final in their first game of the All-Ireland Championship.