Leinster U-21 football championship 2011

fantastic result for wexford and while i fancy them to reach final i have heard good things about westmeath alright , many of last years team phantom??

Wexford are well organised and have a manager who was involved with good counsels colleges success in the late 99 ( team which formed the basis of the success of the wex seniors in the noughties) , semi and final possibly in wexford so a big incentive for them , kildare were short price favs before last night.

gr8 result for wexford..............particularly after last years debacle.....bring em on

As far as I know 9 players plus Heslin who was suspended last night. I have not seen Heslin play yet but from what people are saying he is a class act. The Westmeath side is strong all over the pitch, very fast with high fitness levels. It will take some side to beat them but as we saw last night nothing is guaranteed at this level. I know from talking to 1 of the Westmeath players he thought Kildare were very short to win Leinster before lasts nights game.

First and foremost I would like to congratulate both Wexford and especially our close local rivals Longford on reaching this years Leinster under-21 football final. I have just returned from Naven having witnessed the Longford Westmeath clash. I know some might say that I may have a biased view on the events that marred the game. The referee did give some bad decisions against both sides but  the crucial ones were largely against the Westmeath side.I had a very good view from my position especially towards the goals Longford played into in the first half. They got 2 from where I was standing very soft frees that were pointed. 1 in particular I was stood in front of, when a player from each side tussled for a ball 50/50 and fell to the ground. It was a throw ball but instead the referee gave the decision Longfords way for a very easy score. I f the referee was consistent then fair enough but a similar tussle followed at the start of the 2'nd half yet this time, the ref correctly threw the ball in. At the end of the first half a Westmeath player was clearly brought down in front of goal, the ref seemed to wave advantage but there was no advantage. The Longford players surrounded the Westmeath player while on the ground. He had no where to play the ball but to everyones amazement the ref took his hand down and did not offer the free he initially seemed to indicate and the Longford players took the ball and played it forward. It was clear to everyone in attendance that Longford started the 2'nd half better and went a point up. At this stage John Heslin was brought into play. I have never seen young Heslin play before but straight away I could see why he has created such a buzz and landed himself a AFL contract. The guy fielded a couple of amazing kick outs and quickly Westmeath turned the deficit to a 2 point advantage. The Longford players did target Heslin and fouled as soon as he got possession. What was to follow changed the game and was down to 1 man. A high kick out was fielded this time by the Longford no 8 who was immense also I might add. I had a great view and both players went high into the air with the Longford player winning it. The 2 players fell to the ground and in my view the Longford player won the ball so rightly should have got the advantage. To everyones amazement the referee called Heslin over and sent the young guy off. I stand to be corrected if there was a sneaky punch on the floor or something but from what I saw and I had great view both players went for the ball fairly and fell to the ground. On the way home some Longford supporter texted Newstalks Off the ball and claimed that Heslin was sent off for a high challenge. I saw the incident and everyone in area of ground from both sets of supporters were at a loss as to why he got sent off. There was no malice at all. This changed the game for obvious reasons and to be fair the Longford lads kicked 2 great points and another to edge ahead. I just feel sorry for the young lads who played for the Westmeath team tonight. Alot of hard training went in and hopes were high. Is it no wonder young people are turning away from the game. It was a disgrace.