Proud day for Hoban brothers

SATURDAY was a good day for the Hoban family as brothers Paul and Pat combined to inflict pain on teams in red and white on either side of the country.

Early on in the day former Galway hurler Paul scored five points, including three in the second half, as Warwickshire came from behind to beat Louth in the National Hurling League Division 3A final in Trim on a 0-20 to 1-14 scoreline.

Then that evening older brother Pat hit the opener for Dundalk FC as they claimed their first away win of the season against Sligo Rovers at The Showgrounds.

Speaking to The Argus afterwards Pat said he was delighted with the family double even if he had struggled to keep up to date with Paul’s performance on his journey to the north west.

‘He done very well. I think he got man of the match,’ said Pat.

‘I was trying get details on Twitter but no one would reply back to me until the game was over. I was hoping to listen to it on the radio because obviously I couldn’t go to it but he’s tipping away there nicely and I bet you he’s enjoying himself after it now as well. ‘It’s a good family double,’ he beamed. ‘Beating Louth as well, you might be a bit bitter about it but it’s great to see,’ laughed Hoban.

While Warwickshire’s league campaign is at a victorious end, Dundalk’s is only warming up. After seven matches they now trail champions Cork City by just a point having yet to lose or concede a goal.

Hoban, who has now scored four goals from six league starts despite not kicking a ball in pre-season, said despite the decent start there is much more to come from both him and the team.

‘I still believe that there’s a bit more left in me and I still think I can get a bit fitter but it’s going to take time. Rome wasn’t built in a day and unfortunately our bodies need to react to games and training but I’m definitely getting there.

‘I fully believe that there’s an extra gear in all of us. I still think we haven’t reached our full potential and that’s a great sign.’

It was also a good sign of Hoban’s instincts that he finished the chance on the half hour mark after Seamus Sharkey had missed Michael Duffy’s ball into the box.

‘It was a mistake from the defender but I thought I did well because it came at me quite quick,’ said Pat.

‘You don’t expect a defender to miss something like that so it was just a matter of taking a touch and then a toe poke finish. I’d take about 20 of them this season if they came my way. It was nice to get another goal under my belt but it was just nice to get another clean sheet and three points away from home is massive.

‘It’s our first three points away from home as well so everything is a plus. There are no negatives.’

Hoban is now hopeful of keeping his side’s good form going when they host Bohemians at Oriel Park on Good Friday but expects a tough test from Keith Long’s side.

‘They got a very good result last night, scoring in the last minute, and they’ll be coming up to us on a high so we need to be ready for that.

‘We just need to follow this win and keep the run of wins going. I think they’ll be a danger but we have to believe in ourselves. As I said we’ve a couple of gears left in us so I think we should be fine,’ said Hoban.