For the second time in three years, the Westmeath hurlers stole the limelight from their football counterparts by capturing the Christy Ring Cup. Touted as a future county footballer not so long ago, Paul Greville has had no reason so far to regret concentrating all his efforts on hurling. Despite their annoyance at being denied promotion to next year's Liam McCarthy Cup, the Westmeath hurlers can look back on 2007 with much satisfaction, having inscribed their name on the Christy Ring Cup for the second time in three years. That the celebrations were much more low-key than two years ago is a clear indication of the raised expectations in Westmeath hurling circles. There is a strong feeling in the county that they are ready to move up to the next level, and that their ambitions extend beyond winning the second tier hurling championship. "We got a taste of the big-time last year and we'd love to get another crack at it," says Christy Ring Cup final man of the match and Westmeath full back Paul Greville, who certainly wouldn't look out of place in the top flight. "I think we've grown as a team since 2005, and the expectations are that bit higher. It was a case of 'job done' as much as anything this year. We learned a lot from playing in the Liam McCarthy last year and I think that was clear for all to see in the final against Kildare. We moved the ball a lot quicker than them and that all comes from playing against the top teams. "The big difference I noticed between playing in the Christy Ring and Liam McCarthy Cups was how fast the top teams moved the ball. There wouldn't be an awful lot between the stronger and weaker counties in terms of fitness, but there's a hell of a difference in terms of the speed with which they move the ball," he adds. While thrilled to pick up his second winners' medal, Greville is understandably disappointed that there is no longer promotion for the Ring Cup champions. A controversial decision made at last year's Special Congress means that unlike in 2005 when Westmeath beat Down in a thrilling inaugural final, they won't have the opportunity to test themselves against top-class opposition in the Liam McCarthy Cup in 2008. But at least they will see action in the Leinster championship after gratefully accepting an invitation from the Leinster Council to take part. When Westmeath last participated in the provincial championship in 2006, they recorded a famous victory over Dublin before going on to give creditable performances against Kilkenny and Waterford, the latter in the All-Ireland qualifiers. However, the year ended in disappointment when a revenge-hungry Dublin defeated them in a relegation play-off at Tullamore. "I think we deserve to be playing in the Liam McCarthy - the decision to change the rule does nothing for the promotion of hurling in weaker counties," the Raharney clubman contends. "We feel we are good enough to compete against most of the teams operating at the top level. We've proved that we are a step above the rest in the Christy Ring Cup and we want to move on to the next level. We'll be putting a big effort in the Leinster championship next year and with the exception of Kilkenny, I don't think there are any teams in it that we should fear. And, of course, we'll be going all out to retain the Ring Cup." Following their narrow defeat to Laois in the National League Division 2 semi-final, the Westmeath management team of Seamus Qualter, Offaly legend Johnny Dooley, Christy Murtagh and John Donoghue had two months to refocus their players for the Christy Ring Cup campaign. Their first game was against a resurgent Meath at Pairc Tailteann on June 16. There was a keen edge to the opening 20 minutes, during which time the sides were level on four occasions. Meath led by 0-6 to 0-4 after 16 minutes but failed to score again as the visitors went on to lead by 0-10 to 0-6 at the break. The Royals rallied after the restart to trail by 0-11 to 0-10 before two points each from Barry Kennedy and Andrew Mitchell gave Westmeath some breathing space. Meath scored a contentious goal to leave the minimum in it again after 50 minutes, but Westmeath responded impressively and Derek McNicholas' goal had them 1-19 to 1-14 in front with seven minutes remaining. Meath refused to wilt, however, and hit an unanswered 1-2 in the closing stages - their two points coming from Tipperary import Eoin Brislane - to salvage a 2-16 to 1-19 draw. A week later, a Down team still smarting from their heavy defeat to Antrim in the Ulster final travelled to Cusack Park in search of an opening round success. This game proved to be every bit as competitive as the Meath fixture with Westmeath just about shading the outcome on a 2-13 to 1-15 scoreline. Two first half goals from Derek McNicholas and Daniel Carty eased the home side into an eight-point lead after 21 minutes, but a run of Down scores left them just three points adrift at the interval. Down drew level when Ciaran Courtney sent a long-range free to the net and it was tit for tat thereafter, with points from Ronan Whelan, John Shaw and Daniel Carty handing Westmeath victory by the narrowest of margins. Goals from McNicholas and Ronan Whelan helped Westmeath to a comprehensive 2-14 to 0-11 victory over Mayo in their next outing at Castlebar. The visitors inflicted most of the damage on the hosts in the opening half and were well on their way to victory when leading by 2-7 to 0-5 at the interval. Westmeath confirmed their semi-final place with a 1-14 to 1-11 victory over Kerry at Cusack Park. As the scoreline suggests, this was a hard-earned win and with 10 minutes remaining, it looked as if the Kingdom would prevail when leading by 1-10 to 1-9. However, Seamus Qualter's side finished strongly and outscored their opponents by 0-5 to 0-1 in the final 10 minutes to go through. Westmeath's ability to find the net proved the decisive factor in their 4-11 to 2-15 victory over Carlow in a dramatic semi-final at Tullamore. A brace of goals from John Shaw, accompanied by a similar effort from Derek McNicholas late in the first half, gave the Lake County a commanding 3-9 to 0-7 lead at the halfway stage. But the third quarter was all about Carlow as they came storming back, with goals from Robert Foley and Craig Doyle helping them take the lead for the first time. However, they were unable to sustain the pressure and a second major from McNicholas turned the tide back in Westmeath's favour. Westmeath were firm favourites to beat a much improved Kildare team whose ranks had been bolstered by the addition of former Tipperary All-Ireland winners David Kennedy and Paddy O'Brien. The build-up to the Croke Park decider on August 5 was overshadowed by the GAA's decision to bring the throw-in time forward by nearly two hours to 12.15pm in order to accommodate the All-Ireland quarter-final replay between Waterford and Cork as well as the All-Ireland semi-final between Kilkenny and Wexford. Seamus Qualter described the early start as a "kick in the teeth" for the two finalists, but at least the final didn't lose its live TV slot. From a neutral's perspective, the game failed to live up to expectations with Westmeath always looking the most likely winners. Showing the greater composure in the wet conditions which prevailed, Westmeath had raced into a six-point lead before goals in quick succession from John Shaw and Andrew Mitchell had the Lake County perched on a 2-7 to 0-3 interval lead. Within a minute of the restart, Daniel Carty picked up from where he left off at the end of the first half with another fine point and they had increased their advantage to a whopping 13 points before a demoralised Kildare reduced the margin to eight, 2-15 to 0-13, at the final whistle. "It was a great achievement to win the Christy Ring Cup for a second time. We've now won it the two years we competed in it, and that's not a bad record to have," says Paul, who was disappointed to see Seamus Qualter end a successful four-year involvement with the team in the aftermath of the victory, but could fully understand his decision for stepping down. "We started the campaign slowly, but I would put that down to the fact that we had gone seven weeks without a competitive game. It took us a while to get up speed and we were only approaching somewhere near our best by time the final came around." Paul's father Sean was the Lake County's goalkeeper throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s, and was named on the Westmeath Hurling Team of the Millennium in that position. Last year, Paul and his brothers Johnny and Jimmy were to the fore as Raharney ended a 12-year wait for senior hurling championship honours. An Irish international in the hurling-shinty series, Paul also starred for Killucan in their march to the 2006 senior football championship semi-final and received a call-up to the county football squad on the back of it. But he chose to stick with the game he loves best. "Where I come from (Raharney), hurling rules the roost and I'd prefer it to football. I'd love to see hurling played all over Westmeath. Three years ago, the county went football-mad after Westmeath won the Leinster, but I think hurling has since clawed back some of the ground that was lost that time." Football's loss appears to be hurling's gain in the case of this talented young sportsman . . . Tweet

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