Jim Gavin has expressed disappointment at his Westmeath counterpart Tom Cribbin's post-match admission that the Lake County had deliberately tried to wind up Diarmuid Connolly in the Leinster SFC final.

Connolly grabbed opponent James Dolan in a headlock and dragged him to the ground coming up to half-time after the Westmeath wing back had ruffled his hair. It sparked a melee which resulted in yellow cards for Connolly, Dolan and Kieran Martin.

Reacting to Cribbin's confession, Gavin said: "It's certainly not language that we use. We want defenders to win their own battles, but not in any malicious or devious way.

"We want to play the game the right way. Sometimes players make mistakes. We understand that. I'm sure that number seven (Dolan) didn't mean to do what he did, but that just happens I suppose in the heat of the moment.

"Diarmuid is one of our most skilful players. We've seen in the past that some of our skiful players being targeted as well. They didn't complain.

"They never do complain to me. They just get on with it and that's one of their hallmarks, their resilience."

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