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The performance was plucky, but Westmeath were still defeated in last Sunday's interesting Allianz Football League Division One encounter at Cusack Park.

Paul Bealin will experience his first competitive game as Westmeath senior football manager when his side take on Meath in the Fitzimmons tournament in Kells this Sunday. Bealin has been busy since his appointment in laying the foundations for what will hopefully be a success tenure with him at the helm.

The business end of the senior football championship has arrived with the two semi-finals down for decision this weekend.

The one remaining semi-final berth in the senior football championship will be filled this weekend with either Garrycastle or The Downs advancing to meet St Loman’s. These sides meet in Rochfortbridge on Saturday at 5.30pm in what should be a tighter affair than the odds might suggest.

Disappointment and dismay were the order of the day as Westmeath hurlers and footballers both tasted their last bit of action in this year’s all-Ireland championships last Saturday. Whatever about our hurlers who were punching above their weight, general expectation was that our footballers would have enough in the tank to be included in the draw for the next round of the qualifiers which took place last Monday morning.

Cusack Park plays host to an attractive double-header this Saturday with our footballers in action against Fermanagh at 3pm in round one of the All-Ireland SFC qualifiers followed by the meeting of Westmeath and Waterford in the hurling qualifiers.

There is no shame in losing and certainly no shame in losing to a team of the calibre of the current Dublin side. Yet it was the manner of the defeat and the fact that Jim Gavin’s side sauntered to a 16 point win without having to leave the comfort of third gear that has left a bad taste to this Leinster quarter-final mismatch. Dublin are exceptionally strong at present and will undoubtedly have a big say in the destination of Sam McGuire this September but there is no taking away from the fact that this was a very poor Westmeath performance.

London beating Sligo last weekend caused quite a stir while Louth and Wicklow also upset the odds as they accounted for Laois and Longford respectively. Yet none of these ‘upsets’ would come anywhere near the sense of shock that would reverberate should Westmeath turn Dublin over on Saturday evening.

Westmeath 3-15

(Westmeath v Carlow, Cusack Park, Sunday, 3.30pm)