Westmeath camogie side face crucial Clare clash

Westmeath are faced with a must-win game against Clare next weekend as they battle to stay in the hunt in the All-Ireland intermediate camogie competition.

Manager Padraig Connaughton expressed his disappointment at the defeat by Galway last Saturday, but still believes his side will find a winning performance as the pressure mounts in a very competitive race.

“It’s Clare next in Cusack Park and it’s do or die. We have to win the next day and sometimes in life, when you have to do something, you’ll do it,” he declared.

Connaughton will plan for the crucial game against the Banner County with a full panel to choose from.

“We have no major injury problems, but Emily (McCabe) had to come off at half-time with a tight hamstring. That’s what a strong panel is for,” he said.

“We are still there. We have two games left and if we win both, we are probably in the mix. We will keep the heads up.”

A tendency to lose possession rather easily was detrimental to Westmeath’s chances against Galway, Connaughton felt, while missed opportunities proved a bugbear once again.

“It cost us for the majority of the game. They are very disappointing wides, whether they’re from frees or open play; we were just very nervy to be honest. We had a huge amount of unforced errors,” he said.

While his side were always competitive, losing possession at vital times is an area they must work on.

“We stayed in the game; when they went five or six points ahead, we came back and got a few scores. But then you are dropping the ball and that’s a common theme from the last few games and we are going to have to figure it out,” he observed.

Westmeath made a number of changes as they tried to find a way back into the game.

“We rolled the dice; we actually used six subs because we had one for concussion. That’s the reason why we have a panel, but it still didn’t work. The bottom line is, whether you call it hunger or not, you have to want the ball more. I thought in a few areas of the field, we didn’t,” he remarked.

“Some girls stood up - Caoimhe McCormack made her senior debut today and did extremely well - and a few other girls. The buck stops with me: I have to figure out what went wrong and have to do so for the Clare game next weekend.”

In contrast to the Lake County, Galway put up an impressive scoring total of 1-17, but Connaughton said the focus must remain on his players as they try to find their best form.

“I’d never look at Galway: we have to look at ourselves. We scored 2-7, that wins no game. No matter what Galway scored, whether it was 1-17 or 2-30 - Westmeath scored 2-7 and that’s just not good enough. We need to score more than that next week or we are in danger of exiting the championship,” he said.

Westmeath were left to rue some very near misses on the day, but Connaughton wasn’t looking for excuses.

“We can’t depend on luck. I’m not into excuses, that performance wasn’t good enough. It’s (responsibility) with me, so we have to improve, simple as that,” he insisted.

Connaughton certainly has plenty of options ahead of the crunch tie with Clare and he’s satisfied with the strength of his side.

“It’s a competitive panel. Sheila McGrath didn’t start, Amelia Shaw didn’t start. A number of players didn’t start and we are training very well. It’s hugely competitive; it’s very difficult to pick a team. If a player is not performing well (we saw it here and in Wexford) - someone replaces them. That’s the nature of the beast.”