Louth manager Hilliard pleased with win over the Ernesiders

There was a sense of satisfaction from Louth senior hurling manager, Trevor Hilliard, after his side stormed past Fermanagh with a 3-20 to 0-15 win in the Nicky Rackard Cup tie at Dowdallshill this afternoon.

While the scoreline suggests a one-sided affair, Hilliard admitted it took a bit of a wake-up call at half-time to kick his team into gear.

READ NEXT: Second-half surge sees Louth hurlers sink Fermanagh

Sharing his thoughts post-match, he said: “It turned out to be a good win in the end, but we left ourselves a lot to do again in the first half.

“We were wasteful of a couple of chances. Probably just weren't aggressive enough in the first half we kind of were weighing up the opposition.

“Obviously, we know what they’re like, but I have to say we had the chat at half time. We started out in the first half; we were still well in the game.

“Four points behind at half time. But we got a good word into them. We had a couple of wee small tweaks. 

“And we came out and we played the way we should be playing. And hit 3-13 in the second half. It's good going.”

Despite trailing by four points at the break, Louth kept themselves within touching distance and never allowed the Ernesiders to build a commanding lead.

“We kept it ticking over. The lead never went too far out that we couldn't get a grip of. We missed a couple of chances,” he said.

“Probably could have been closer at half time. But we were happy enough probably going in at four points at going in at four points. It was a strong enough breeze there.

“But we were kind of happy enough. But once we got the boys into the dressing room, they knew they hadn't performed the way they can perform.

“And once we got going at it, we started opening out. Overall, I think the fitness probably showed a lot in the second half. Because they seemed to tire just slightly. But overall, happy. But needs improvement in the first half.”

Half time team-talk

“It's relentless stuff. You always have to try to get the boys going again. There's bad cop, good cop kind of.

“But we really got into them. They knew they weren't firing and to be honest, they were happy by the end of it once they got the result.”

Goals win games

The second half saw a flurry of goals, with Leon Fox, Darren Geoghegan and substitute Seaghan Connelly all finding the net.

“Three goals, yeah. ‘Foxy’ (Leon Fox) got a flick off on one, Darren Geoghegan picked up a goal. And then we emptied the bench a little.

“You can see it today again. It's a 20-man game. Maybe sometimes it could be a 22-man game. Because Aaron McGuinness came off there and we had to put in Michael O'Shea.

“You know, it's great, a debut there from Michael O'Shea as well. He probably didn't expect to come in, but in fairness to him there was not a bother on him he settled into the position lovely.

“And you know, the whole thing is about blooding these boys and hopefully they're going to be ready for further in the Championship now as well.”

Captain Clancy

“The man is excellent in goals. It's like a wand that stick in the goals the way he gets it across. But you know, he's our leader. And what he says goes.

“And you know, the boys really tune in and listen to him. And he shows it himself when he's in between the sticks as well.”

Crucial win

Looking ahead, Hilliard knows that this afternoon’s result was crucial in setting the tone for the rest of the campaign.

“This is a massive game today. This is either which end of the table you're going to go. Whether it's up or down. 

“Now this gives us a bit of a good go with the next couple of games. Mayo next week is going to be tough.

“But we don't mind going in against Mayo. As I say, you know, we have still Roscommon and Armagh after that. They're big games we have to target.

“Four points has to be the outcome there. And hopefully that could be enough to push you across. I do see the likes of Fermanagh or Armagh are taking points off Sligo.

“So, if we can stay in the hunt to give us that opportunity on the last day against Roscommon, you know, that's what we'll be fighting for.”

Mayo next

“They had a good win against Armagh. A big lead at half-time. I was just watching 17-1. So obviously Armagh was kind of looking to see what they had and didn't come out.

“But they came out in the second half and hit a couple of early scores. But then Mayo then pulled away again. Mayo is the team in the Championship.

“They beat London as well. So, they are the team in the league probably are going to be the team in the Championship. 

“But we're not going to go down fearing them. We played them twice last year. They were two tough games for us.

“We've learnt from that, and we've come on from that. We're blooding young boys in all the time. So, we'll take each game as it comes, and we'll see where we go from there.”

With two points now on the board and momentum swinging their way, the Wee County will look to push on as the Nicky Rackard Cup campaign gathers pace.