Louth hurlers look to maintain 100% record against Warwickshire

Louth senior hurlers will be aiming to keep their 100% record intact when they travel to Birmingham to face Warwickshire in Round 3 of the Allianz National Hurling League Division 4 this afternoon. 

The Wee County have enjoyed a strong start to the campaign and sit top of the table with four points after impressive wins over Fermanagh and Monaghan.  

A 2-18 to 1-12 victory over Fermanagh at Dowdallshill was followed up by a 2-24 to 0-12 win against Monaghan last weekend. 

Meanwhile, Warwickshire have had a tougher start and lost to Longford (4-14 to 3-11) in their opening game and falling to defeat against Lancashire (3-12 to 1-18) last week. 

Louth manager, Trevor Hilliard, has made just one change to the team that saw off Monaghan, with goalkeeper and captain Conor Clancy making way for Ricky McKeown between the posts. 

Louth’s starting XV: 1. Ricky McKeown; 2. Andrew Smyth, 3. Conor Quigley, 4. Stephen Kettle; 5. Mark Gahan, 6. Leon Fox, 7. Aaron McGuinness; 8. Ben Goss-Kieran, 9. Peter Fortune; 10. Adam Plunkett, 11. Seán Flynn, 12. Darren Geoghegan; 13. John Casey, 14. Conor Murphy, 15. James Costello. 

Looking back on last week’s victory, Louth senior hurling captain Conor Clancy admitted he was surprised by how the Reds pulled away in the second half against Monaghan. 

He said: “We were very surprised with the way we opened up in the second half. The first half was a serious battle we had a storm at our back, and we could never get away by more than four or five (points).  

“They kept clawing in and we went in at half time then I wouldn't say we were worried, but we were definitely having a few strong words.  

“Trying to see what we needed to do to get our shape right and we came out in the second half the decision making was huge.  

“The difference between the first and the second half was our shooting, where we were striking the ball from, our delivery, and retention of the ball.  

“It came down to decision making in the end and the ball started to stick for us. 

“We have to be aware now that teams are going to be watching that, and they are going to be adapting their play to suit us.  

“So, we are going to need to have more strings to our bow, we are going to be able to have to work the ball through lines and take scores from further out.  

“It is going to be a really challenging and enjoyable time for us to keep developing the whole time and keep improving.  

“We can’t just focus on the one side of hurling. We are in a good position now. We are going good but we have to get better.” 

Louth go into this fixture full of confidence but will be mindful of Warwickshire’s ability to keep games competitive. 

Referee: James Clarke (Cavan).