Allianz National Football League Division Two North: Westmeath v Down (tomorrow, 1.45pm, TEG Cusack Park – live on GAAGO)
ANYTHING could happen in Mullingar - literally anything. With both counties already knowing their fate, aware that it will be decided in a fortnight’s time rather than tomorrow afternoon, the management teams must weigh up what they want to take out of this game.
Defeats to Mayo and Meath - both relegated from Division One last year - have left Down and Westmeath facing a relegation play-off and a last shot at saving their skins against either Cork, Kildare or Laois, depending on how results shake out in Division Two South tomorrow.
So the choice facing Jack Cooney and Paddy Tally is simple – do they use this ‘dead rubber’ to save the legs of those still getting used to a swiftly expedited return to action earlier this month? Or do they try and muster some momentum ahead of the potentially season-defining coming up next?
When the Mournemen had their promotion to Division Two already secured heading into the final round of League games last October, Tally handed six players their first League starts against Louth and Down slipped to a seven point defeat in Dowdallshill.
With their Ulster Championship opener against Fermanagh looming on the horizon then, he saw that there was nothing to be lost by mixing things up.
Tally may favour that approach again tomorrow, but the lay of the land is different this time around. Down travel to Mullingar off the back of two comprehensive beatings, causes lost long before they were eventually put out of their misery by the referee’s whistle.
Another defeat would leave them bottom of the pile in Division Two North, but another underwhelming performance would leave Tally ¬– who is without full-back Gerard McGovern, suspended after being shown a straight red last weekend - with a tough task to turn the ship around in the space of two weeks.
Down simply have to be better than they were against Mayo and Meath; they have to give themselves some kind of momentum to bring into the next day.
Westmeath may be on zero points too but their cup should be half full after two encouraging displays thus far. The first weekend against Meath, Cooney’s men were easily the better side for the majority of the game, looking sharper and stronger than the Royals in almost every department.
Yet they were caught at the death – maybe it was a fitness issue, maybe Meath boss Andy McEntee got his changes right where Cooney didn’t. But having trailed by four with 14 minutes left, the Royals pulled it out of the bag to snatch victory in added time.
Rather than being disheartened, last weekend Westmeath followed that up by pushing All-Ireland finalists Mayo to the wire before losing out by three in the end. Again it went away from them in the last quarter, and that will be a concern, but at least they have something to hang onto; something to take encouragement from.
That is the very minimum Down need tomorrow, regardless of what kind of team is picked or what the scoreboard reads when all is said and done.
