Westmeath won’t silence the critics ’till they take big scalp

TWO years ago, when the qualifier competition was introduced to the Bank of Ireland SFC, Westmeath won the admiration of followers nationwide with a string of impressive performances, which all but earned them an All-Ireland semi-final appearance.

But that hard-earned profile dipped subsequently as a consequence of a poor League campaign and a devastating loss of form last summer.

Mighty Meath, who did most to frustrate their championship ambitions, stand in their way again tomorrow and popular manager Luke Dempsey recognises that his team won't silence their critics until they take a big scalp. Three times in the 2001 campaign they came up against the Royal county and three times, Seán Boylan's team survived. A draw was the best that Westmeath had to show for the trilogy.