Dessie Dolan spoke of his pride after his Westmeath team came within a hare’s breath of reaching the knockout stages of the Sam Maguire.

Last year’s Tailteann Cup champions didn’t look out of place in a very difficult All-Ireland SFC group where they ran both Armagh and Galway close before drawing with Tyrone and almost snatching a famous win after John Heslin’s last-gasp free tailed inches wide.

I think the lads, in terms of performance, were incredible. They showed great spirit,” the Lake County boss told GAAGO.

“We didn't get much luck this year and it has come against us again here. We just needed that ball to be a couple of inches inside the post and we would have went through. It's disappointing.

“I'm really proud of the lads. A lot of people were saying we shouldn't be here as Tailteann Cup winners, that we don't deserve it. I think that's rubbish, you can see yourself what it means to the lads. It's a prize for the lower teams to get up and have a crack at it.

“When we saw the draw, it was the group of death, it was Armagh, Galway, and Tyrone. If anyone was looking at the games, they would say we put in massive performances and were unlucky at the end of the day.”

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