FROZEN out of the O’Byrne Cup as Longford v Westmeath is postponed

Longford’s defence of the O’Byrne Cup had ended without even kicking a ball amid major confusion as the first round game against neighbouring rivals Westmeath at Glennon Brothers Pearse Park on Saturday was postponed due to the frosty conditions.

The small attendance that gathered for the pre-season fixture were greeted with the news that the referee, Kevin Williamson from Offaly, deemed that the pitch was unplayable with particular emphasis on the goalmouth at the town end of the ground which was described by one of the match officials as ‘rock concrete.’ 

As per competition regulation, to the disappointment of the home county, Leinster GAA ruled that Westmeath will advance to the O'Byrne Cup quarter-final at home to Louth (on Wednesday night).

Longford will now enter the consolation O'Byrne Shield at the semi-final stage away to Wicklow on Saturday next, January 10th, following the 2-11 to 1-12 defeat for the Garden County at home against Meath.  

Longford were set to start with four senior debutants against Westmeath, notably Ronan Bleakley (Dromard), Oisin Kenny (Rathcline), Liam Glennon (Carrickedmond) and Matthew Flynn (Clonguish), in the build up to the start of the National League Division 4 campaign away to Waterford in Dungarvan on Saturday January 24th. 

There will be a whole lot more at stake when Longford and Westmeath meet again in the opening round of the Leinster Championship at Glennon Brothers Pearse Park in April. 

The squad selected to line-out against Westmeath in the O’Byrne Cup was as follows: 

LONGFORD: Eoin McGuinness (Slashers); Patrick Fox (Mullinalaghta), Ronan Bleakley (Dromard), Bryan Masterson (Abbeylara); Peter Lynn (Slashers), Dessie Reynolds (Sean Connolly’s), Oisin Kenny (Rathcline); Liam Glennon (Carrickedmond), Oisin O’Toole (Dromard); Matthew Flynn (Clonguish), Matthew Carey (Clonguish), James Moran (Killoe); Paddy Moran (Killoe), Cathal McCabe (Colmcille), Oran Kenny (Rathcline). 

Subs:- Oisin McManus (Killoe)

Iarla O’Sullivan (Rathcline)

Cian Brady (Abbeylara)

Niall Farrelly (Killoe)

Harry Kiernan (Granard)

Caolan Lynch (Abbeylara)

Dylan Farrell (St Brigid’s Killashee)

Paddy Mollaghan (St Brigid’s Killashee)

Jayson Matthews (Mullinalaghta) 

Daire O’Brien (Slashers) 

The Westmeath team that appeared in the match programme: Jack Connaughton; Danny Scahill, Darragh O'Keeffe, Tadhg Baker; Boidu Sayeh, Ronan Wallace, Brian Guerin; Jonathan Lynam, Brían Cooney; Danny McCartan, Senan Baker, Matthew Whittaker; Luke Loughlin, Brandon Kelly, Robbie Forde.