Having endured torrid Fr Manning Cup and Gerry Reilly tournament campaigns, the Westmeath under 16 footballers salvaged lost pride when capturing the Leinster tournament title in November. What for a long time looked like turning out to be a disastrous year for the Westmeath under 16 footballers had a satisfactory ending when Emmet McDonnell's charges won out their section of the Leinster tournament. A 1-9 to 1-6 victory over Louth in the final at St. Loman's completed a remarkable turnaround for the Lake County side, who had endured tough Fr Manning Cup and Gerry Reilly tournament campaigns. Traditionally, Westmeath have been leading contenders in these highly prestigious tournaments but they were very much also-rans last year as they failed to win a game in the Gerry Reilly and managed just two victories in the less competitive Fr Manning Cup. Between 1999 and 2001, Westmeath had a monopoly on the Gerry Reilly Cup and they also captured a Fr Manning Cup during the same period. But they made no headway in either tournament last year and, in fact, were well beaten in a number of their games. The tone for the Gerry Reilly Cup campaign was set when they lost their opening match to Meath by 0-9 to 0-15. On a day when much attention was focused on the demise of the county's senior footballers in Clare, there was a significant show of support for the Westmeath youngsters in Oldcastle. However, they were given little to cheer about as a physically stronger Royal County outfit powered to victory. The home side led by 0-8 to 0-4 at the break and with man of the match Graham Reilly really coming into his own in the second half, they maintained their grip on proceedings in the second period. Westmeath reduced the deficit to two points at one stage, but Meath finished the stronger to take the spoils. Westmeath's next outing in the tournament could only be described as an embarrassment as they crashed to Cavan by a massive 28 points. Inspired by Killian Sheridan, the Breffni County ripped the Westmeath defence to shreds in the first half to lead by 4-5 to 0-4 at the interval. It didn't get any better in the second half for a lacklustre Westmeath team who relied on two players - James Durkan and Conor Lynam - for all of their scores. Westmeath showed a big improvement against Dublin in their final game, but they still succumbed to a 0-12 to 4-8 defeat. The Lake County actually led by five points at half-time, but the concession of four second half goals - three of which were the result of poor defending - left them with the wooden spoon. The Fr Manning Cup didn't bring much joy either to Westmeath. They suffered a 2-5 to 5-9 defeat to Cavan in their first game at Lacken, but at least the performance was much more respectable than that which was witnessed in the Gerry Reilly Cup. Westmeath's losing streak was finally ended when they recorded an emphatic 4-10 to 1-4 victory over a limited Leitrim team at Cusack Park. Aided by a Conor Lynam goal, the home side held a 1-8 to 0-3 lead at the break and further majors from Lynam, Mark Ennis and Noel Mulligan added gloss to the scoreline. Westmeath supporters had hoped that the Leitrim result would mark a turning point for the team, but a 2-9 to 3-9 reversal at the hands of Longford in Ballymahon sounded the death knell for their Fr Manning Cup hopes. Emmet McDonnell's charges paid the price for a dreadful first half showing which left them trailing by 0-1 to 1-6 at the interval. To their credit, they staged a courageous second half comeback, but the concession of a third Longford goal 12 minutes from the end was a real killer blow. Westmeath had only pride to play for in their remaining games against Sligo and Roscommon, and they secured a positive result against the Yeats County when emerging as comfortable 1-13 to 0-4 winners at Pairc Chiarain, Athlone. Minor player James Durkan rattled the Sligo net early on and the outcome was never in doubt after that with all of Westmeath's scores coming from play. The campaign ended as it had started with Westmeath losing to Roscommon by a solitary point, 1-10 to 0-14, at Dr Hyde Park. Trailing by five points with six minutes remaining, Westmeath looked down and out but a late goal from full forward Noel Mulligan almost saved them from defeat. Encouragingly, Emmet McDonnell's charges were able to put the disappointment of the Gerry Reilly and Fr Manning Cup campaigns behind them when they took part in the Leinster tournament in October and November. After losing to Laois in their first outing, they secured an away victory against Limerick and followed that up with a battling draw against the eventual Section A winners Offaly at Ballinagore. The Faithful County took an early 0-4 to 0-1 lead and were 0-9 to 1-3 to the good at half-time. In the second half, James Durkan and Lorcan Smyth scored goals for the home side, but they still needed a late point from Durkan to earn a 3-8 to 1-14 draw. Having finished third in the group with three points, Westmeath played Meath in the Section C semi-final at a rain-soaked Ballinlough venue. A brace of first half goals from Durkan had the visitors well in control at half-time. The first, after two minutes, was a great score with the full forward taking a pass from Eoin Dalton and cutting inside the Meath cover before finishing to the far corner. The second was of the fortuitous variety as his high shot deceived the Meath goalkeeper and dropped into the net. The Royals showed the type of fighting spirit for which they are renowned in the second half and a fine goal by corner forward Martin Dervin nine minutes from the end cut the deficit to just four points, 2-7 to 1-5. But Westmeath responded with scores from Simon O'Donnell and Durkan to secure a six-point victory. The final against Louth was very much a game of two halves. The Wee County led by five points after 27 minutes and even though Westmeath cut that to four at the break, they looked to be in serious trouble, particularly as they forced to field in the second half without leading forward James Durkan whose services were required elsewhere by his club Ballinagore in the Leinster junior club championship. But against all the odds, the Lake County got themselves back into contention courtesy of a brilliant solo goal from the industrious Lorcan Smyth. Eoin Dalton edged Westmeath in front before Louth levelled through centre back Declan Byrne in the 50th minute. However, the momentum was very much with the home side and three unanswered points from Mark Ennis and Conor Cochrane (two) in the closing stages saw Westmeath finish the season on a winning note. The Westmeath under 16 football team that won Section 'C' of the Leinster League was: Aonghus Hanna; Gerry Gleeson, Simon Lawless, Ger Keegan; Mark Irwin, Ronan Doyle, Stephen Lawless; Mark Flanagan, Simon O'Donnell; Noel Mulligan, Eoin Dalton, Conor Cochrane; James Durkan, Lorcan Smyth, Mark Ennis. Subs used: Shane Flynn, Simon Maher and Fiachra Fox. Under 21 hurlers embarrassed by Carlow While 2005 turned out to be one of Westmeath hurling's most successful years, there were many low-points throughout the season, none more so than the dreadful showing by the under 21 team in the Leinster 'Special' championship. A 0-5 to 4-15 drubbing at the hands of Carlow in Castletown-Geoghegan in late April ensured an early exit for the Maroon and Whites. As the scoreline suggests, Westmeath were totally outclassed which was hardly surprising given that they struggled to put 15 players on the field and could call on only one substitute. The Lake County were badly let down by players who didn't train or make themselves available which turned this into an embarrassing situation. Only a few days before the game, the then Westmeath senior manager Tom Ryan publicly expressed the fear that the Lake County might have to concede a walkover, citing a lack of interest from clubs as a major concern for the future. In hindsight, conceding a walkover might not have been such a bad thing. The writing was on the wall for Westmeath from an early stage with a Ruairi Dunbar goal helping to ease Carlow into a 1-3 to 0-0 lead after 14 minutes. Killian Cosgrove finally opened the home side's account before the Barrowsiders scored a second goal through Kevin Foley to take a commanding lead into the break. It continued to be one-way traffic in the second half with a third goal from Brian Murphy ending the game as a contest. Cosgrove pulled back two points for the disjointed home side, but Carlow remained in the ascendancy and Murphy's second goal put the seal on a facile victory. The Westmeath team was: Keith Fitzpatrick; Anthony Doyle, Paul Greville, Brian Garvin; Sean Maguire, John Fagan, David Flanagan; Conor Jordan, Joe Clarke; Francis Boyle, Peter Collins, Brian Smyth; Derek McNicholas, Killian Cosgrove, Blaine Lahart. Sub: Martin Egan. Tweet

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