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Westmeath Football thread

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A brilliant occasion in Cusack Park, entertaining game, Colaiste Mhuire better team, huge physicality in middle section, Marist just couldn't win possession, James McHugh man of the match with 2-8 off limited possession, Weir, Byrne, Ormsby, Moloney and O' Brien had big influence for winners.

Claretandblue (Westmeath) - Posts: 2568 - 07/02/2026 16:48:11    2655377

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Some serious talent coming through in Westmeath. I thought McHugh was unbelievable. Ormsby had a massive game also. Schahill by his standards probably had a quiet first half but came more into it in the second half. I can see Colaiste Mhuire getting to the all Ireland final at a minimum. Should be interesting seeing McHugh & Scahill playing together at U20 level this season for Westmeath. Mark McHugh was also there today which was good to see!

Matthew (None) - Posts: 1112 - 07/02/2026 20:01:59    2655403

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Replying To Upforthegame23:  "Rumours that the westmeath executive and ccc have decided that u18s in last year of minor are not allowed play adult football again in westmeath. You can now vote, drive get married in westmeath but are not allowed play adult football, but u are allowed play u20s with adults. Its mind boiling really. I heard denis and Buddha explaining playing adult football at 16 years of age and how it helped them develop to the 2004 success. Obviously westmeath are doing it right and other 40 counties are wrong"
It really does depend on what your county boards priority is. If you let u18s play adult gaa it kills the u18 championship. Its as simple as that. Your minor championship becomes condensed. The best minors are on their clubs first team and that teams fixtures takes precedent for both the club and the county board. This means that the rest of your u18s get 3 games max in possibly the most vital year or years of their development. So your choice is to either keep minor at u17 or dont allow u18s play Adult gaa. Most other counties did get it wrong. It killed u18 hurling and football in Limerick for example.
Another factor is who runs the competition
U17 is run by the minor board and its their marquee championship. U18 is run by the senior board and its a nuisance to them

Tadhg2020 (Limerick) - Posts: 22 - 07/02/2026 20:36:24    2655417

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Replying To Fighting-Cocks69:  "Hard to argue with it really - only a small few clubs unhappy with the current championship format. Overall it's working well and there's very little complaining. You'd think the county board would have bigger things to be worrying about instead of trying to fix something that doesn't really need fixing.

Especially when you look at the success at schools, college and county senior level over the last few weeks - that says plenty. Better off getting back to the stuff everyone actually wants sorted, like facilities and underage development.

Great game today in Cusack Park as well. CBS definitely the better side - the margin would've been very big only for McHugh. Once Will got that second goal off a poor kick-out decision, that was game, set and match.

CBS are very strong - bench every bit as good as the starting team, bringing on lads like Meehan, Hayes and more. Serious setup and brilliant school support again."
I thought that the Marist coped very well in the first half with Ormsby and the kickout. They lost their way on their own kickout in third quarter. I dont know what happened but the keeper just seemed to lose his concentration and kicked the ball to an unmarked Mary's player four or five times in a row. This brought the Mary's half back line roaring into the game and I think they scored 6 points between them in second half. Even with all that to contend with Marist were a point up going into the 4th quarter. Then they inexplicably imploded at the back and gifted Mary's their first goal through an unforced error at the back. The did it again for the second goal when they again had possession and handpassed the ball( admittedly under pressure) to a Mary's forward right in front of their own goal. Mary's were the better team but Marist found a way for long periods to stay in the game only to hand it to Mary's in the end. Its a bit simplistic to give all the credit to McHugh for that. He got the scores, is a great player and had a great game but the work rate, resilience and team play of Marist was excellent. Mary's are a very good team and Marist went toe to toe with them inspite of some serious physical disadvantages. They can hold their heads high.

Tadhg2020 (Limerick) - Posts: 22 - 07/02/2026 20:50:29    2655419

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