Castledaly manager Keith Begley believes that their local derby against Rosemount is a must-win game for them.

Having lost their opener to Mullingar Shamrocks, the 2008 county champions cannot afford to drop any more points if they are to reach the knockout stages.

Begley told the Westmeath Independent that they are expecting a tough clash against a side that has made a winning start to the campaign.

"This is probably a must win game for us if we want to be in contention in the latter stages. It's a very competitive group and and every game we play is going to be difficult," said Begley.

"We lost our opening game against Mullingar Shamrocks so that out us on the back foot somewhat. We lost two big players at the start of the year. Alan Stone did his cruciate with the county senior team and then we lost Jordan Nugent in the U-20 game against Offaly.

"The two lads are a massive loss to the squad and it's hard for a club the size of ours to be able to replace these valuable players.

"This weekend's encounter is going to be a real challenge for us. Rosemount are a very capable unit. Both set of players will know each other because they would have played together at underage level. When bragging rights are up for grabs, it's always an extra incentive to do your best."

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