Keane gutted as Lake County players hurting after painful Dublin rout

JOHN KEANE’S body language told it all. Clearly despondent after their hammering from Dublin in the Leinster football semi-final, the Westmeath captain would have wished to be anywhere than being wheeled out to face the media. But, to his credit, he didn’t shirk from his duty and faced the music. Offering the view that he hadn’t had “a feeling like this in a long time coming”, he said: “I just want to get togged in and go home at this stage.”

His assessment of a 27-point defeat was that, individually and collectively, Westmeath let themselves down. Team manager Tomas O Flatharta conceded that it was “very hard to cope”, while a delighted Pat Gilroy acknowledged their display was “a hell of a lot better” than the performance against Meath.

“We still had a few bad misses, but I think the option-taking was better today, particularly in the first half when it was still a game,” said the Dublin boss. !