A place in the quarter-final of the Leinster U21FC against either Laois or Wicklow is what's at stake for Longford and Westmeath when they face off in the first round in Newtowncashel next Wednesday night (throw-in 7.30pm).

Jack Sheedy's charges will be hoping to make home advantage count against their neighbours after a disappointing Hastings Cup campaign which saw them lose all three games to Mayo, Offaly and Cavan. Westmeath, by contrast, reached their semi-final of the same competition where they lost to Meath by three points.

The Longford squad isn't considered to be as strong as last year's, but Sheedy and his selectors Frank McNamee and Liam Belton are nevertheless confident that the hard work the players have put in on the training field will pay off.

"There are some big shoes to fill from last year in terms of the personnel, but the current squad have applied themselves really well in working hard in training. We are looking forward to the game and hopefully we can produce a performance good enough to beat Westmeath," he is quoted in the Longford Leader.

"They have a lot of good footballers there and many have come through the minor ranks. Let us not forget that Westmeath reached the Leinster minor final last year." Tweet

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