Meath manager set for Westmeath test

Meath senior hurling manager Martin Ennis can reflect on a successful three-year stint at the helm ahead of Sunday's Leinster SHC showdown against neighbours Westmeath in the compact surroundings of Cusack Park, Mullingar.

However, reflecting on that success is not in the manual for Ennis and his sideline team that comprises former manager John Andrews, Michael McCullough and Westmeath man Pat Clancy.

Nevertheless, it's worth noting the achievements in a hugely successful 12-month period since the dramatic two-game decider that produced a sensational Christy Ring Cup final victory last June.

That success sent Meath inter-county hurling into hibernation for the following six months and it only resumed last January in the depths of winter with a first round Walsh Cup defeat by Offaly at Trim.

Ennis was instrumental in securing Meath's elevation to the Walsh Cup from what was the more traditional start-of-the-year Kehoe Cup, a second tier Leinster GAA warm-up tournament.

The step up in standard has benefited Meath substantially and this year Ennis added a NHL Div 2B title with the Royal County to his impressive managerial CV to make it two pieces of silverware for the previously bare hurling sideboard.

The Christy Ring Cup victory also earned that precious ticket into the preliminary skirmishes that comprise the four-team Leinster SHC round robin. 

After a first round victory against Kerry three weeks ago, Meath were dealt a dose of reality when they hosted Laois in the second round at Páirc Táilteann.

They were well beaten, although a 15-point gap was possibly a bit unfair and not totally reflective of the status of the current panel of players.

Since Ennis took the Royal reins in 2015 there has been a steady rate of progress and next Sunday's trip to Mullingar will gauge exactly where this team is in terms of development and possible future progress.

“We had a good chat with the players on the Tuesday after the Laois game, what we need to focus on now is just winning our next game, nothing more than that, and the next game is on Sunday against Westmeath,” he told the Meath Chronicle.

“We are not looking any further than that at the moment, we have to win our next game, it's really as simple as that, win the next game.

“When the fixtures for the round robin were produced it was fairly obvious that it was going to come down to the last game in Mullingar.

“You can be certain that there will be great support for Westmeath, we just want the Meath supporters to come out and get behind us, it will all make for a great atmosphere.

“Cusack Park is a great venue, a good pitch and a big crowd, it's what championship hurling is all about. These games take on a life of their own, I've played in plenty of them in the past and if you're not up for it, you will be found out pretty quickly.

“We were well up for the Kerry game and things went in our favour while that wasn't the way it panned out against Laois.

“We were good against Kerry, but we were definitely below par against Laois, I certainly wouldn't agree that Laois is 15 points better than Meath, although they were on the day I suppose.

“We have looked at how we played, we gave away lots of scores, but we also missed a lot of chances, I suppose the good thing is that at least we were creating chances, we can't afford to be as wasteful on Sunday.

“Our backs held the Laois forwards to eight points from play and that was a decent performance, but the two Laois midfielders had a day that everything went right for them.

“It wasn't a good day for us, but the encouraging thing is that we have all learned from the experience.

“What we do with that now is the next challenge, we have a chance to put it right on Sunday.

“The standard that Laois play at is the yardstick for the rest of us, Laois never played in the Christy Ring Cup, the rest of us have. 

“Laois have a been playing the likes Waterford, Wexford, Limerick, quality teams, they are learning all the time, but next Sunday for us it's all going to come down to who wants it more on the day. 

“Westmeath know they can still qualify if they win, that they will stay up (avoid relegation) if they win, it's the same for us and I would expect a very close game, we are familiar with Westmeath, they probably know us fairly well also,” he added.

Meath will be going into Sunday's game as the outsider in a two-horse race simply because Westmeath are playing at higher level in the NHL Div 2A, a grade that Meath will campaign in next year after about five years in the NHL Div 2B.

“We will be the underdog again, that suits us fine. We will just concentrate on our game, give it our best shot and hopefully that will get us over the line,” stated the manager.

“The only injury concern we have is about Damien Healy, I'm hopeful at this stage that he will make the starting 15, but a decision will not be made until closer to Sunday on that matter.

“Training is going well, we were in Rathmolyon last week and it will be Navan this week, it's shaping up nicely and we are delighted to be in the Leinster SHC round robin.

“It's a bit disappointing in one sense that two of the four teams (Meath, Westmeath, Kerry, Laois) will be finished for the year after next Sunday.

“I still believe that teams like Kildare and Carlow should also be in this round robin - and the GAA could still have the Christy Ring Cup and the other competitions.

The current round robin could accommodate more that just four teams, two more teams would extend the sequence to five games instead of three and it would boost the game at the level we are playing at.

The current format doesn't give players much of an opportunity for summer hurling, some teams will be finished next Sunday and that's not acceptable,” he concluded.

 

The Meath team will not be announced until tomorrow before the game.