Westmeath on the radar for Royals at Mullingar

There was an air of optimism surrounding Páirc Táilteann on Saturday night as Meath supporters left the Navan venue with the hope of brighter days ahead following an opening round NFL Div 2 victory over Monaghan. Much had been made of Monaghan's visit to Navan. There were the obvious links between the two counties with former Farney boss Seamus McEnaney starting his second campaign in charge of the hosts while ex-Meath manager Eamonn O'Brien, now a member of the backroom team of Monaghan, working under former Trim manager Eamonn McEneaney. Meath manager McEnaney spoke afterwards of his delight with the 1-15 to 1-9 victory, but he was even more pleased with the level of performance that gave the Royal County's hopes of having a positive impact in Div 2 a major boost. "I'm delighted for the Meath players that they produced a performance tonight. We have taken a lot of stick in the past and in some cases rightly so," McEnaney told the Meath Chronicle. Next Sunday's hosts will be without their Garrycastle contingent because of All-Ireland Club commitments. The absence of those players would have contributed to their 1-6 to 0-12 loss to Louth last Sunday. Meath (probable) v Westmeath - D Gallagher; M Burke, B Menton, G O'Brien; C Lenehan, S McAnarney, C McGuinness; B Meade, M Ward; C O'Connor, G Reilly, S Bray; P Gilsenan, J Sheridan, C Ward.