‘Win or Learn’: Talking Points as Limerick footballers travel to Mullinagar

Limerick play their third game of the championship this Sunday as they travel to Mullingar to take on Westmeath in Round 2 of the All-Ireland Qualifiers.

Defeat in Cusack Park would signal the end of the season for Billy Lee and his side who have shown much signs of improvement this summer.

A brilliant win over Tipperary was somewhat tainted by a heavy loss to Cork in the Munster semi-final.

Ahead of the Westmeath clash we examine some of the key talking points.

Can Limerick learn from Cork experience?

On the surface, there isn’t much one can take from a 21-point defeat in a provincial semi-final.

Yet, for Limerick manager Billy Lee, this is exactly what he must do.

What happened to his side in Pairc Ui Rinn cannot be disregarded as Limerick must remember that performance and learn accordingly to ensure a repeat will not happen.

In Cork, the home side exposed Limerick’s weakness through the heart of their defence and exploited it repeatedly early on.

They allowed Limerick possession in their half of the pitch before suffocating any green jerseys that ventured into a scoring area.

Westmeath, as a newly promoted Division 2 side will be able to replicate this approach with Limerick needing to show that they have learned their lesson in this regard.

Limerick have the players to cause the upset in Mullingar but only if they show the ability to adapt when faced with difficult circumstances.

Will Westmeath recapture early season form?

After winning Division 4 of the National Football League in 2017, Westmeath would claim the Division 3 title earlier this Spring to earn promotion to Division 2, just three years removed from playing in the bottom tier. Five wins and a draw from their seven league games saw them into the final where they overcame Laois 1-13 to 0-13.

This success supplemented that of the O’Byrne Cup they won in January as they defeated Dublin 1-12 to 0-10 in the final. Their form in the league saw much optimism in the county that they could reach a third Leinster final in four years.

However, in the Leinster quarter-final they came unstuck against Laois, scoring only 0-10 as they were resigned to the qualifiers once again.

They somewhat rectified this in the first round of the qualifiers when they defeated Waterford 1-22 to 0-7. However, despite being favourites this Saturday, Westmeath will face a significant step up from the Déise.

Westmeath are home in this tie which should benefit the Leinster side.

Yet, after showing so much promise in the Spring a slow start could see the crowd getting anxious which could in turn affect the players on the pitch who will be desperate to regain the form they showed in the O’Byrne Cup and League successes.

Positive start crucial for both sides.

Limerick’s victory over Tipperary was based off an extremely solid first half of football. Whilst scoring eight points from limited chances, Limerick also restricted a dangerous Tipperary attacking unit to eight points before scoring three second half goals to blitz the 2016 All-Ireland semi-finalists.

In the subsequent semi-final three early goals from the Rebels had the contest effectively ended within the opening fifteen minutes.

These games will serve as a timely reminded to Billy Lee and his side that a strong start is and will be vital against a side with Westmeath’s quality.

While they don’t have the quality that Cork possess, in Ger Egan and John Heslin they have two forwards of the highest class that will cause damage should they be afforded the time and space to do so.

In Thurles, Limerick’s superior fitness was crucial in their win as was the introduction of quality subs such as Peter Nash with the Kildimo/Pallaskenry man sealing the result with his goal.

As such they must ensure that they are strong and defiant against Westmeath in order to keep the game competitive with a squad capable of finishing games in the balance.