Reds must eye up specific games for points in Rackard Cup
EXUBERANT, optimistic platitudes aside, simply surviving in the Nicky Rackard Cup would be a success story for Louth in the aftermath of their relegation to the bottom rung of the National Hurling for next season.
Trevor Hilliard’s men are on a fourmatch losing streak and take on a Roscommon side who competed reasonably well in the tier above during spring, despite, ultimately, finishing in the bottom three and being condemned to Division 3.
With Donegal having finished second in 2B and only narrowly missing out on a place in the decider, the Rossies and Mayo, who defeated Louth on the way to winning the 3A title, are contending for the Rackard Cup this term, the fate of the Reds, Monaghan and Armagh will more than likely be determined by their head-to-head jousts.
The home match with Armagh on April 20 and round four fixture in Monaghan (May 11) should be earmarked by Hilliard and his players as the ‘must-win’ ones, while avoiding defeat at Hyde Park this weekend (April 13) and when welcoming both Mayo (April 27) and Donegal (May 18) would be an unexpected bounty.
Armagh and Monaghan don’t face each other until the last weekend of group games and, so, if Louth keep up their end of the bargain and see off their near neighbours, safety would already be guaranteed when the Tír Chonaill travel down from the north-west.
Of course, optimists will point to the Wee county’s win in Roscommon during last year’s National League and be hesitant in completely ruling out a repeat outcome. The Connacht side would change their management following the 2-16 to 0-15 reverse and their season would take a dramatic turn for the better as a result.
But when the teams subsequently met in the championship, the gap was still marginal only for the Rossies’ capacity to get goals at crucial junctures. Louth registered on five more occasions in Darver but lost on a 1-17 to 5-8 scoreline.
In that game alone, Roscommon got two majors more than they managed during the entirety of the 2024 league, though they were facing a superior calibre of opposition more recently and having got that exposure, they will anticipate being strongly in contention for overall honours.
If they are to be in the fight towards the closing stages, Louth must be a lot meaner defensively than they have been. No team conceded more in Division 3A, with nine goals flying past Conor Clancy, who excelled himself in ensuring the tally didn’t drift into double digits. Meanwhile, in the matches where the Offaly-native did manage to keep a clean sheet, Mayo raised 28 white flags and Armagh noted 19.
Settling on a preferred XV and giving it time to bond could be another outlet for Hilliard in trying to improve Louth’s fortunes. While there are a number of positions allotted to specific personnel, like Clancy between the posts and Andrew Smyth at corner-back, the manager hasn’t yet identified the best combinations in other areas of the pitch.
That, of course, may indicate that he has strength-in-depth and, therefore, doesn’t need to constrain himself to a particular number of players, though the league should have given him a guide regarding who should be in the team for the championship.
In any case, a defence with Smyth, Adam Plunkett, Stephen Kettle, Peter Fortune and Conor Quigley in it looks the most formidable. James Costelloe, George Allen and Thomas McCreesh are potential midfield players. Up front, Conor Murphy, Darren Geoghegan, Paddy Lynch and John Casey would be a dangerous quartet, with the aerial threat of Dylan Carey and Seaghan Conneely interesting in terms of what it could offer.
Saturday’s result won’t define Louth’s championship but halting the losing run would be a hugely encouraging boost.
LOUTH MUST BE A LOT MEANER DEFENSIVELY THAN THEY HAVE BEEN