Two rearranged fixtures in Division 3 take place this afternoon and the top and bottom of the table could alter this evening.
Westmeath will hope to bounce back from last weekend’s surprise defeat to Louth when they take on their near neighbours Longford, who are struggling at the bottom of the table while Fermanagh will want to build on last weekend’s win over Longford when they welcome Laois to Brewster Park.
Westmeath v Longford, Saturday 5th March, 2pm, TEG Cusack Park
Westmeath will want to get their promotion hopes back on track after last weekend’s two point defeat away to Louth. Longford fell to their second defeat of the campaign last Sunday to Fermanagh having been ahead by five points at the break.
Longford are without their captain Mickey Quinn for this game. The Killoe man was shown a straight red last Sunday following a clash with Ciaran Corrigan. It’s a huge blow for a struggling Longford side who want to retain their Division 3 status having gained promotion back in 2015.
Westmeath were made rue kicking 10 wides to Louth’s five last weekend. John Heslin kicked 1-10 with two other players contributing to the Lake County’s final tally of 1-13. That’s something that manager Jack Cooney will want his side to work on.
Fermanagh v Laois, Saturday 5th March, 3.30pm, Brewster Park
A strong second half performance last Sunday saw Fermanagh pick up their first win of the campaign and they’ll want to build on that when they take on Laois. Laois were denied victory last weekend when Antrim scored a last minute point to level the game.
Once again against Longford Sean Quigley showed his worth for the Erne County; scoring two goals which laid the foundations for their win. They go into the Laois full of confidence and will want to move up the table and not have to look behind them.
Today is Laois’ ninth game in two months; following their run to the O’Byrne Cup Final as well as league games. Sean Moore is out following a knock in training while Paul Kingston underwent an operation this week and his brother Donie is also struggling with an injury too.
Deniese O'Flaherty
Deniese is a freelance sports journalist/broadcaster. She has worked for several local and national media outlets. GAA and soccer are her great loves and she also follows rugby league and snooker. She's a big supporter of her local clubs St. Mary's GAA Granard and Longford Town. She also follows Celtic, Liverpool and Leeds Rhinos. She presented and produced a popular sports podcast last year where she interviewed Ray Houghton, Chris Kamara and John Hartson. Deniese is currently Head of Communications for Boccia Ireland