Louth hurlers travel to Emyvale to take on Monaghan

Louth senior hurlers will look to build on their strong start to the Allianz National Hurling League Division 4 campaign when they take on Monaghan today in Emyvale. Throw-in is at 2.00pm. 

The Wee County made a statement last weekend with a 2-18 to 1-12 victory over Fermanagh at Dowdallshill and will aim to carry that momentum into their clash with Monaghan. 

This will be the Farneymen's first outing in this year’s competition. However, Louth will be hoping that match sharpness from their Round 1 win gives them the edge. 

Louth overcame a sluggish first half against Fermanagh before finding their rhythm and pulling away in the second period.  
After that win, manager Trevor Hilliard highlighted the importance of hard work across the pitch. 

He said: “The most important thing for me was we turned the ball over then. It is not just about the boys getting the scores on the board, it is about the work rate.” 

Hilliard praised the efforts of Ben Goss and Conor Murphy in midfield, along with the impact of Darren Geoghegan further up the field.

“We have been working hard on creating goal chances because what you are trying to do is open up a team early and that is what I wanted in the first half, we got it in the second half but at least we got there.” 

The Reds will now shift their focus to Monaghan, a team they know well and one they expect to provide a tough challenge. 

Hilliard said: “We are straight back against Monaghan. People call it a bit of a derby match, but we want to see the way they played in the second half to be implemented across the whole game and not just in patches.” 

Louth set a target of four points from their opening two games, and with two already secured, a win today would tick that box. 

“To me last week is two points, today hopefully is two points, we set our platform at the start of the year that we wanted four points, and that is what we are going after.” 

Louth will be eager to take care of business in Emyvale and head into their away fixture in Birmingham next week to Warwickshire with maximum points.