"I think without any doubt, this is a wonderful opportunity for Westmeath to get to the semi-finals. I would be lying if I said otherwise."

Westmeath manager Tom Cribbin has his sights set firmly on a provincial semi-final showdown against the winners of Meath and Wicklow.

"After the league campaign, it was our target to at least reach the semi-finals in Leinster and we'll be looking to do that by beating Wexford on Sunday.

"I have to be honest and say it would be a terrible disappointment, after the amount of hard work and commitment by the players, if we fall short on Sunday."

Cribbin's charges scored a convincing 3-14 to 0-16 victory over Louth in Drogheda back in mid-May while David Power and his Wexford players haven't been seen in competitive action since their relegation from Division 3 back in April.

Westmeath's starting 15 sees Denis Coroon come straight back in at left half-forward having only recently returned from a spell working in the UK.

Elsewhere, Paul Sharry (right half-back) returns after missing the Louth game through injury while Ronan Foley has been included in the half-forward line.

As for the Model County, PJ Banville is playing for New York and Daithi Waters has thrown his lot in with Liam Dunne's hurlers this year.

The team is a work in progress according to captain Ciaran Lyng: "David (Power) has been very good but a lot of it is stuff you learn from experience. But I think they all have massive potential so you just have to bear with it for a while. You're just trying to blood them through and get them to the level it takes."

The last time these two counties met in championship fare was in 2011 when Wexford secured a first win against Westmeath in nine attempts.

Verdict - Westmeath.

Westmeath team: Darren Quinn; Killian Daly, Kevin Maguire, Paddy Holloway; Paul Sharry, John Gilligan, James Dolan; Ger Egan, Darragh Daly; Ronan Foley, Ray Connellan, Denis Corroon; Kieran Martin, John Heslin, Shane Dempsey.

Wexford team: Shane Roche; Michael Furlong, Naomhan Rossiter, Joey Wadding; Brian Malone, Simon Donohoe, Adrian Flynn; Syl Byrne, Colm Kehoe; Tiernan Rossiter, Ben Brosnan, Kieran Butler; Eoghan Nolan, Ciaran Lyng, Kevin O'Grady.

Match details: Sunday; Cusack Park, Mullingar; 3.30pm.

Referee: Fergal Kelly.

Odds: Westmeath 2/5, Draw 25/1, Wexford 11/4.

Tweet

Most Read Stories