Mean Keane the Westmeath lynchpin

Friday April 18 2008
Westmeath have turned defence into a fine art.
They have been the defensive rock that several of Gaelic football's top forwards have perished on.
Steven McDonnell, Ronan Clarke, Seanie Johnston, Conal Keaney and Stephen Bray -- among Division 2's top marksmen -- have scored just one point from play between them as they pushed for promotion to the top tier.
Westmeath have the best defensive statistics going into the last round this weekend, with only 2-44 conceded.
Only Cork, with two games less played because of the 'strike,' have conceded less -- 0-47 in four games. Antrim, punching below their weight in Division Four, have coughed up 2-49, but with an extra game played.
Westmeath would have to leak 15 points or more against Monaghan in Clones on Sunday to end with an inferior 'scores against' tally to Kerry, who wrapped up Division 1 giving
1-62 away in seven games.
They leaked their biggest score away to Cork (0-11) and Dublin (1-7) but all other games -- Cavan (0-6), Roscommon
(0-6), Meath (0-8) and Armagh (1-6) -- have produced single-digit totals against them.
Consistency in selection from goalkeeper to midfield has been one of the features of Westmeath's campaign. Only once in six games since the first week in February has Tomas O Flaharta been forced to make a change from one to nine, giving him a foundation most managers would crave.
Doran Harte replaced 'flu victim Francis Boyle at right corner-back against Roscommon, but otherwise defence and midfield has been the same. Boyle and full-back Kieran Gavin, a former West Ham goalkeeping triallist, are the only newcomers to this tightly knit defensive unit.
John Keane, an All Star in 2004, has been the defensive lynchpin, using his man-marking ability to great effect.
Michael Ennis has been a revelation this season. Twice he raided opposition lines from half-back to score 0-2, while Damien Healy has also ventured forward from the other wing with success, notably against Meath, when he bagged 1-1. Derek Heavin has been a nomad for most of his Westmeath career between half-back and half-forward, but now looks settled at centre-back.
The six backs have been helped by the defensive orientation of former full-back Donal O'Donoghue, who has been regularly deployed in a sweeping role behind an ever-improving midfield.
Martin Flanagan has been rejuvenated, while Darragh Duffy, long viewed as Rory O'Connell's natural replacement, is only now coming through.
Westmeath's fate is in their own hands ahead of Sunday's game with Monaghan. A campaign that began as an exercise in survival has been pared down to an afternoon in Clones that could propel them into the top flight.