U16 Football Ted Webb Cup Final
Westmeath 3-16 Cork 2-15
Westmeath sealed the Ted Webb Cup for the first time last Saturday following a thrilling encounter with Cork in Ballyhaunis GAA grounds, with extra time required to separate the sides. Despite opening the scoring with a quickfire 1-2, Westmeath were pegged back to level terms by half time, with the score at 1-5 to 0-8.
A trio of points on the resumption put the Lake County into the lead but the game spun again as Cork rattled off 2-4 in a row to lead by 2-12 to 1-8 with 10 minutes remaining. A 2-pointer followed by a goal fuelled the Westmeath comeback that saw the sides locked at 2-12 apiece on full time.
Each side tagged on 2 points in the first period of extra time, but Westmeath kicked for home on the resumption with 1-2 in a 2-minute period to seal the victory on a scoreline of 3-16 to 2-15. The result marks Westmeath’s first success in the competition, having taken part in it since 2021, and the nature of the win required huge resilience from the team.
After the game, captain Shay Leavy was presented with the trophy by Ted Webb Junior, who is a nephew of the late Mayo footballer Ted Webb. In his speech, Webb pointed out his uncle’s links to Westmeath as a student in Carmelite College Moate.
Well done to the 37-man panel for their efforts across the year and to mentors Ken Berry, Cathal Tighe, Ronan Farrell, David Scahill and Brendan Lynn on coaching and preparing the team. A high number of the panel have been in the development squad system since U14 and all players will look to develop further with their club and school teams.
