Hilliard happy as Louth clinch Division Four title

Louth senior hurling manager, Trevor Hilliard, was full of pride and satisfaction after his side secured a 0-16 to 1-8 victory over Fermanagh to win the Allianz National Hurling League Division Four title this afternoon at St. Mellans Park, Truagh, Monaghan.

Reflecting on the win, Hilliard acknowledged the challenging conditions but praised his team’s response. He said: “I’m delighted. It was hard conditions out here; the pitch is really heavy, but three points up at half-time.”

“We could have been a lot more ahead. It wasn't even that we had to up our performance to get the scores. We had to get our work rate back up because we were second to the ball, we were losing the ball in the contact.

READ MORE: Louth hurlers defeat Fermanagh to be crowned Division Four champions

“There were a lot of things we had to tidy up at half-time. But the reaction out of the boys in the first couple of minutes of the second half, we got one of the early scores and they came back and got a score.”

Hilliard also credited his defence for their resilience in keeping Fermanagh at bay.

“They had a couple of goal chances, but Colm Quigley, Stephen Kettle, and Leon Fox in defence were absolutely excellent in the second half.

“And then they filled the pocket near the end of the game. And when we just needed a bit of reassurance, there was Mark Allen.

“Mark started the game well and was flying into it at the end, whereas Aaron McGuinness came into the game as well.”

Hard-hitting Fermanagh

The Louth boss wasn’t taken aback by Fermanagh’s physical approach and praised their tenacity.

“It didn't surprise me because I know that's what they're all about, and it's kind of a wee thing - they are like Leitrim,” he noted. “They're really dogged in the tackle, and they sent three, four, five men in. So we worked on that.

“But you never knock them for the fight; they never stop until the final whistle. And like in the second half, there were a couple of scores that could have gone either way.

“Two, three goal chances, a different day they go in, and you are in big trouble. We would've been squandering, but you won’t get anyone more delighted to see them go wide than myself.”

Important scores

Louth found scores at crucial stages to keep control of the game, something Hilliard talked about

“When they were needed, yeah. Paddy Lynch’s point was a vital point at that stage, and David Stephenson's as well. They just kept them at arm’s length - we didn’t want them getting too close.

“The bench today ran really well for us, so I’m happy with the boys. The biggest shout I have here is the young lads who have trained with us since the start of the year.

“This is for them, and I’m delighted that they’ve worked with us. Hopefully, we’re going to start seeing a few of these in the next year or two.”

Looking ahead to Sligo

Louth’s attention now turns to the upcoming championship clash with Sligo, and Hilliard insists his squad will remain fully focused.

“Sligo next - we can’t really take our foot off now. Sligo probably had a bad enough campaign, but my God, they’ll be ready for the championship.

“So we will be starting to think nothing else. We’re not thinking of Fermanagh or anyone else. We are thinking of Sligo from here on in.

Injuries

With players returning from injury, Louth’s squad depth is improving at just the right time.

“We have a couple of injuries - Andrew Smyth is a big loss. Adam Plunkett was out as well with a groin injury. Then you have George (Allen), and Brian Corcoran came down with a virus - Brian didn’t even tog out today.

“But we have a great panel coming now. Everything strengthens up. Every man’s up and over a shoulder. So if you're not performing, then someone else will take that opportunity - that’s what it's all about.”

Momentum

An unbeaten league campaign, promotion secured, and now a trophy in hand—Hilliard sees it as vital momentum heading into the championship.

“It’s all about winning. At the start of the year, we made that cut with ourselves. We said we wanted to go out and win every game in the league. Leitrim, bad conditions that day, brought us into a dogfight. Today was a dogfight again.

“But overall, we went into every game to win, and we’ve done it. The winning mentality going into the championship is a good place to be.

“And yes, it’s not just Sligo you are looking at. You have to look at Fermanagh, Armagh, and Roscommon as well.

“I see this group here pushing every one of those teams close, and hopefully, we can push into the Nickey Rackard.”

Croke Park 

Despite the win, Hilliard couldn’t hide his disappointment that the final wasn’t held in Croke Park.

“Awful disappointed, yeah. It’s very disappointing. This is a Gaelic field, fair play to Truagh - I play a lot of hurling here myself. But in fairness, the pitch is really, really heavy. These games should be played in Croke Park.

“It’s just a bit of fairness - that’s all that anyone is going to ask for at the end of the day. But c’mere, we got the win. We’re happy. Once we got the trophy, I was happy enough.”

Louth now look ahead to the championship with their confidence sky-high, hoping to carry their winning form forward against Sligo and beyond.