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National Forum

Westmeath Football thread

(Oldest Posts First) - Go To The Latest Post

Replying To Dennis_Maroon95kg:  "The Junior Final should be a great contest. Joseph's will be looking to put the past 2 years behind them but the Downs will be no pushover going by tonight's performance in Kinnegad.

Does anybody know if the Downs were to win the junior do they go up to Intermediate next year? - or would it be Joseph's because it's the Downs second team?"
If The Downs were to win the junior A they would move up to Intermediate, no reason why not. However St Joseph's will represent the county in Leinster regardless.
Kilbeggan will be gutted after such a flat 1st half performance, just never got going.
The Downs starting 15 are fit and young, average age probably 23/24 so no auld lads as such. They lost a few to senior early on but have coped.

BigSur (Westmeath) - Posts: 1266 - 26/09/2026 08:32:42    2695084

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Replying To BigSur:  "If The Downs were to win the junior A they would move up to Intermediate, no reason why not. However St Joseph's will represent the county in Leinster regardless.
Kilbeggan will be gutted after such a flat 1st half performance, just never got going.
The Downs starting 15 are fit and young, average age probably 23/24 so no auld lads as such. They lost a few to senior early on but have coped."
Should be a very good Junior final. I was at Joseph's v Lomans game. Two good sides.
Joseph's blitzed Lomans in first 15 minutes and again in second half where they established 14 point lead. Very similar to The Downs with 11 or 12 starters under 24 years of age. Games between the two clubs have been close in recent years.

Greengrass1 (Westmeath) - Posts: 102 - 26/09/2026 08:57:29    2695085

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Replying To MichaelScott:  "The structure is the structure, whether you like it or not, they are there on merit and it's disrespectful to say they don't deserve to be there regardless of the fact that it is quite likely The Downs will win comfortably"
They weren't there on merit. Today showed what people have said over the last few weeks. Massive difference between Group A and Group B. A joke of championship. To say that was semi final of our county championship.
The Downs won't be overall happy with their performance today either. A lot to improve on for the county final.
Lets be fair after today's showing we should all agree that the format should be back to what it was!
Moate deserved to be in QF. No further.

Temple56 (Westmeath) - Posts: 669 - 26/09/2026 17:50:35    2695117

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Replying To Temple56:  "They weren't there on merit. Today showed what people have said over the last few weeks. Massive difference between Group A and Group B. A joke of championship. To say that was semi final of our county championship.
The Downs won't be overall happy with their performance today either. A lot to improve on for the county final.
Lets be fair after today's showing we should all agree that the format should be back to what it was!
Moate deserved to be in QF. No further."
Totally agree. As a neutral, The Downs were light years ahead of moate today. The county board do really need to have a good look at the format for next year. It was a sad spectacle for a County semi final. That game wouldn't have helped the Downs at all today. The Downs probably need to improve too. I know they were missing a few players too,which if they get those players back will help. But that game today was no contest. Like someone else said on here,moate only played intermediate standard teams in this championship apart from Tubberclair and i would fear for them next year.Hopefully tomorrows game will be better value for money.

RamblingHen (Westmeath) - Posts: 4 - 26/09/2026 19:10:09    2695130

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All eyes on the other senior semi tomorrow. Hard one to call. Lomans have the 4 or 5 star players while the sum of Kinnegad's parts is probably better. The new rules seem to have forced Jack's hand a bit and CK are playing a much better brand of football. Is there talk of Ronan O'Toole coming home for the game ? The battle between David Giles and Heslin will be interesting.
In the Intermediate Milltown defeated Rosemount by 7 in a low scoring semi today. No surprise I suppose.
Shandonagh after a heartbreaking 1 point defeat in the minor today take on Malachy's tomorrow and you's expect Shandonagh to progress fairly comfortably.
Tense finish to the minor final, Trailing by a point, Shandonagh opted to go short with a last minute 45 presumably trying to get a 2p winner but got turned over and ref blew it up. Downs best team for me over the 60 but wouldn't have been against a replay. Some of the Shandonagh mentors let themselves down post match and along the line during the match also. Constantly in the ear of officials and way too many mentors on the line.

BigSur (Westmeath) - Posts: 1266 - 26/09/2026 20:42:31    2695136

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Can't disagree with the previous posts, there was a huge gulf in class today. I had hoped that Moate might raise their game and that if the Downs were a little off the boil that it could be closer, but it really was no contest. In fact it could have been much worse! Moate kept going in fairness but the difference in pace, power and skills was huge. Robbie Forde tried hard from scraps but had little support. This daft championship structure really came home to roost today and while the two best teams will reach the final, it hopefully won't paper over the disgrace that this system was allowed to be the structure for this year. Looking forward to tomorrow's game whic will be a huge contest.

Iarmhisamhi (Westmeath) - Posts: 79 - 26/09/2026 20:43:21    2695137

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Replying To Iarmhisamhi:  "Can't disagree with the previous posts, there was a huge gulf in class today. I had hoped that Moate might raise their game and that if the Downs were a little off the boil that it could be closer, but it really was no contest. In fact it could have been much worse! Moate kept going in fairness but the difference in pace, power and skills was huge. Robbie Forde tried hard from scraps but had little support. This daft championship structure really came home to roost today and while the two best teams will reach the final, it hopefully won't paper over the disgrace that this system was allowed to be the structure for this year. Looking forward to tomorrow's game whic will be a huge contest."
I wouldn't be too hard on the Moate players after today. I think a lot of the criticism has to be directed towards the management.

For me, the Moate management left a lot to be desired and, at times, looked out of their depth. Good players doesn't necessarily make you a good coach or manager, and I think that showed today.

Moate were exposed on numerous occasions, particularly in the back line, which was an issue that had already been highlighted. The kick-out strategy was another major concern - there didn't seem to be any clear plan, and The Downs were able to put Moate under pressure from the kick-outs time and time again.

I was sitting in the stand today and, from where I was watching, the Moate management looked lost at sea at times. There seemed to be very little response to what was happening on the pitch, and that's a concern when you're playing a team of The Downs' quality.

You have to give The Downs credit. They were very slick at times, moved the ball extremely well and punished Moate when opportunities presented themselves. The worrying thing for the teams around them is that they'll probably improve again as the championship progresses.

Moate have some very good footballers, and I still think there's plenty of potential there. But today, for me, the difference was as much about the direction from the sideline as it was about the players on the pitch.

RamblingHen (Westmeath) - Posts: 4 - 26/09/2026 21:04:35    2695140

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