O'Connell awaits ruling

Westmeath's lone All Star, Rory O'Connell, will learn his fate at lunchtime today after his GAC hearing for an alleged stamping on Offaly's Pascal Kellaghan. Páidí Ó Sé and county chairman Séamus Whelan accompanied the player to Croke Park yesterday.

O'Connell was suspended while awaiting the hearing, so he missed Westmeath's historic victory over Dublin yesterday. Gary Dolan replaced him in midfield.

If found guilty of stamping, O'Connell can expect to get a three-month ban which would rule him out of the campaign, unless Westmeath make it to the All-Ireland final. O'Connell vigorously denies stamping on Kellaghan, who reportedly sent a letter to the hearing.

Wexford, another side who should be basking in the glory of a great victory yesterday, will have to plan without midfielder Nicky Lambert and Colm Morris ahead of their Leinster semi-final clash against Westmeath.

Lambert broke a bone in his shin after 31 minutes of Sunday's match against Kildare. His championship is over.

Morris was shown a straight red card near the end of the contest after an off-the-ball incident with Terry Rossiter. Morris will learn the full extent of his punishment over the coming weeks. The corner back missed last year's championship clash with Laois after being sent off in an earlier league game against Limerick.

Meanwhile, Limerick have thrown their hat into the ring to stage the Munster senior hurling final between Cork and Waterford on June 27th. Traditionally, Thurles has been the favoured venue for championship matches between the counties, but Limerick believe their new stadium, with capacity of almost 50,000, might carry weight when it comes to decision time.

The Munster Council will decide on the venue this week.

Mike O'Brien is an unlikely starter for Limerick in next Sunday's Munster senior football semi-final against Waterford. The Glenroe player has a hand injury which is slow to heal. There are also question marks about the fitness levels of midfielder Jason Stokes.

Conor and Trevor Mortimer scored seven points between them as Mayo defeated Meath in a challenge match to mark a pitch opening at Ratoath yesterday.

Meath trailed by 0-1 to 0-5 at the interval and received something of a blow in the run-up to their Leinster senior championship semi-final with Laois after defender Hank Traynor limped off after 15 minutes.

Trevor Mortimer should have had a first-half goal but was denied by an excellent block from goalkeeper David Gallagher, while the same player elected to handpass over the bar when presented with a similar opportunity on the restart

MAYO: F Ruddy; C Moran, D Heaney, G Ruane; F Costello (0-1), J Nallen, G Mullins; J Gill, R McGarrity; B Maloney (0-2), K McQuaid (0-2), A Moran; C Mortimer (0-4), T Mortimer (0-3), A O'Malley (0-3). Subs: P Kelly for Ruane, A Dillon (0-1) for A Moran, P Gardiner (0-1) for Costello, B Ruane for Mullins, D Sweeney for Nallen, D Munnelly for O'Malley, D Geraghty for C Moran.

MEATH: D Gallagher; N McKeigue, D Fay, M O'Reilly; D Curtis, T O'Connor, H Traynor; D Byrne, A Moyles; S Kenny, C McCarthy, T Giles (0-3); E Kelly (0-1), D Crimmins, D Regan (0-1). Subs: C Murphy for Traynor, O Murphy (0-1) for Crimmins, A Rennicks for Curtis, N Kelly for E Kelly, B Farrell for Regan, D Clarke for Murphy, A Kenny (0-1) for McCarthy, R McGee for S Kenny.