Westmeath's most successful football club, Athlone, are in grave danger of being relegated from the senior ranks for their first time in their history.
A 3-8 to 3-9 defeat to Bunbrosna in their final SFC group match at Cusack Park on Friday night means the Shannonsiders must now face a relegation playoff against south county rivals Castledaly. Fintan Finnan scored the winning point to push the 20-times Flanagan Cup winners closer to the dreaded drop.
Castledaly finished their group campaign in Tubberclair last night with an emphatic 4-13 to 2-9 victory over The Downs, despite being reduced to 14 men after just 17 minutes following Enda Kelly's dismissal. Corner forward Lorcan Dolan bagged 3-3 in a stunning display.
Castledaly have been a senior club for 20 years and, based on last night's performance, will be many people's favourites to retain their top-flight status. However, Athlone were in this position before in 2011 and survived thanks to a victory over Tubberclair.
Meanwhile, champions St. Loman's made it five wins from five when accounting for Maryland by 4-15 to 2-10. They qualify directly for the semi-finals as Section A winners. Bernard Flynn's Mullingar Shamrocks have made it through to the quarter-finals, despite suffering a surprised 0-8 to 2-10 loss to Killucan, who also progress to the knockout stages at the expense of neighbours The Downs.
The remaining knockout places will be filled after today's Section B games, with former kingpins Garrycastle needing to beat table-toppers Coralstown/Kinnegad to stay in the championship.
Tweet