Westmeath football supporters are looking to the championship more in hope than confidence after the county suffered NFL relegation for the second year-in-a-row. It is both remarkable and shocking to think that the Lake County hasn't won a league game since beating Dublin in the NFL Division 2 final two years ago.

The Westmeath football team's sharp decline continued unabated in the recent National League campaign when, for the second successive year, they failed to win a single game.
Since claiming the NFL Division 2 title following a memorable victory over Dublin at Pairc Tailteann in April 2008, Westmeath have lost a whopping 14 league games on the bounce which has seen them drop from Division 1 to Division 3 in double quick-time. It is a depressing and embarrassing record which leaves confidence at a very low ebb ahead of June's Leinster championship quarter-final meeting with either Carlow or Wicklow.
In former Westmeath manager Brendan Hackett's defence, he inherited an ageing squad which was coming off the back of a record 27-point defeat by Dublin in last year's Leinster championship. It was said at the time that it could take years for Westmeath football to recover from such a devastating loss and that may yet prove to be the case.
Hackett's cause wasn't helped either by the defections of marquee forwards Dessie Dolan and Denis Glennon, and the retirement of key defenders John Keane and Derek Heavin, while it would seem 2004 Leinster championship-winning captain David O'Shaughnessy has finally succumbed to his long battle with injury. Furthermore, Westmeath's abysmal record at underage level since 2000 has left the county with a dearth of talent, although the achievement of this year's under 21s in reaching the Leinster final provides hope for the future.
Apart from his relative success with the under 21s, Hackett had precious little to cheer about during his short time in charge. His promise of "short-term pain" has certainly came to fruition, but he had remained committed to the massive rebuilding job that is clearly needed, and to turning Westmeath's fortunes around.
The Hackett era began with a heavy defeat to Sigerson Cup champions-elect DCU in January's O'Byrne Cup. Westmeath's only win of the year to date came against lowly Kilkenny in the O'Byrne Cup Shield - a competition they were subsequently knocked out of by Wexford on a 0-8 to 1-11 scoreline.
How the Lake County performed against Donegal, Armagh and Meath in their first three NFL Division 2 games would go a long way towards determining their league fate. The management had targeted consolidation but, in truth, Westmeath already looked doomed to relegation after their drubbing by Armagh in Crossmaglen.
With several new faces on show, Westmeath made a whirlwind start to their league opener against Donegal at Cusack Park when they raced into a 0-5 to 0-0 lead inside 13 minutes. But they couldn't maintain that early pace and Donegal - who had beaten Tyrone in the McKenna Cup final the previous week - had whittled the lead down to the minimum, 0-5 to 0-6, by half-time.
Two minutes after the restart, Donegal captain Kevin Cassidy strode forward to send an unstoppable shot to the net which turned the game around. The visitors never looked back after that, adding five unanswered points between the 56th and 65th minutes to run out comfortable winners by 1-13 to 0-9.
If there had been encouraging signs in the first half of the Donegal game, there was absolutely nothing to be gleaned from Westmeath's next outing against Armagh in Crossmaglen. Steven McDonnell led the visiting defence a merry dance as the Orchard County cruised to a 2-19 to 0-8 victory.
The Killeavy sharpshooter notched a magnificent 1-9 from play to leave Brendan Hackett's side shell-shocked. McDonnell already had 1-5 on the board at half-time, by which stage Armagh had established a 1-9 to 0-5 lead. Westmeath started the second half promisingly but spurned a number of chances and these misses came back to haunt them in the final quarter when Finian Moriarty's goal put the seal on an emphatic 17-point win for the home side.
With apathy now rife among supporters, another heavy defeat against Meath in Navan was feared but, against all the odds, Westmeath came within seconds of securing a rare victory over their old rivals. The Royals' pre-match odds were as low as 1/8 and they looked set to justify such a rating when leading by 1-2 to 0-0 after 11 minutes. But a 20th minute Paul Bannon penalty gave Westmeath hope and they went into the break trailing by 1-2 to 1-6.
Meath quickly extended their lead to 1-8 to 1-2 on the restart before the switch of team captain Michael Ennis from defence to attack brought about a huge improvement in Westmeath's play and they went on to dominate the remainder of the game. Points from Paul Greville, Bannon and substitute Philip Gilsenan had reduced the deficit to three points, 1-6 to 1-9, before Gilsenan set up Ennis for the equalising goal in the 59th minute.
Ennis' second point gave the visitors the lead for the first time with seven minutes remaining, only for David Bray to bring Meath level with the 70 minutes almost up. Referee Jimmy White signalled two minutes of injury-time and when Westmeath were awarded a free 35 metres out, they looked set to claim a famous victory.
But Paul Bannon sent his shot wide and it seemed the Royals had escaped with a draw. However, White allowed play to restart and Meath worked the ball down the field for Stephen Bray to fire over the winner with the last kick of the game to leave the Lake County heartbroken.
Following that unlucky 2-8 to 1-12 reversal and the return of veteran Martin Flanagan to the squad, things were starting to look up ever so slightly for Westmeath. But just when it appeared they had turned the corner, Laois came to Mullingar and inflicted another crushing defeat on Brendan Hackett's embattled charges.
Inspired by an outstanding display by Michael John Tierney, who hit 0-13, including 0-7 from play, the O'Moore County powered to an impressive 0-24 to 3-8 victory. Chasing their opponents for most of the game, Westmeath's first goal arrived on 14 minutes when Paul Greville volleyed home from a difficult angle, but Laois hit back with five unanswered points. The home side responded once more with points from Tommy Warburton, Greville and Bannon, but still trailed by 1-5 to 0-10 at the interval.
Laois resumed with further scores from Niall Donoher and Tierney before Martin Flanagan came off the bench to score Westmeath's second goal. The sides were level twice more before Laois moved up a gear and scored six unanswered points. Westmeath were given hope once again when Bannon converted a penalty after Flanagan was fouled, but the home side could never get to grips with Tierney and he finished them off with a flurry of late scores.
There were shades of the Meath game as Westmeath let another victory slip against Kildare in Newbridge. A late Kildare rally yielded a 1-11 to 2-7 victory and effectively condemned the Lake County to the drop.
The visitors got off to a perfect start when Paul Bannon slotted home his third penalty in as many games after three minutes. Martin Flanagan profited from a poor kickout to add a second goal 10 minutes later and by that stage, Westmeath had built up a seven-point lead without conceding a score.
At the interval, they still led by five points and even though Eamonn Callaghan notched a Kildare goal shortly after the resumption, points from Bannon and Michael Ennis put them three clear entering the final quarter. But after three Johnny Doyle frees had brought Kildare level, the Allenwood attacker hit two wonderful efforts from play to give the home side a two-point cushion entering injury-time. All Westmeath could muster in reply was a Doran Harte point as they slipped to their fifth straight defeat.
Resigned to their fate, Westmeath offered no resistance to Down at Cusack Park seven days later, with the Mourne County clinching promotion with a facile 2-15 to 0-8 victory. The visitors dominated from the outset and led by 1-2 to 0-0 after 15 minutes with Ambrose Rodgers accounting for the goal.
Down had increased their advantage to 1-8 to 0-3 by half-time and they put the result beyond doubt when Mark Poland punched home their second goal in the 48th minute.
There was no respite for Westmeath who completed the campaign with another defeat to fellow relegation victims Tipperary. A paltry attendance of just 280 watched the dead-rubber Semple Stadium tie which was illuminated by a match-winning display by Tipp corner forward Barry Grogan, who top-scored with 1-7.
Tipp always looked the more likely winners, despite late call-up Philip Gilsenan scoring a superb goal for the visitors after just six minutes. Midfielder George Hannigan netted for the home side in the 28th minute to help them to a 1-6 to 1-4 interval lead.
A quick 1-1 from the in-form Grogan on the restart propelled John Evans' side into a six-point lead before Westmeath responded with five unanswered points to leave the minimum in it. But Tipp scored five of the last six points to run out 2-13 to 1-10 winners and leave Westmeath with it all to do before the championship.
If there is an upside to being in Division 3 next year, it is that it's a more suitable place to blood young players and to team-build. It will also provide the management with an opportunity to arrest the slide of recent seasons and to get Westmeath football on an upward trajectory once again. Tweet

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