O’Brien hails hurler’s heroics as Reds book final berth

LOUTH hurling manager Philip O’Brien hailed the dedication and commitment of his players following their draw with Monaghan which secured the Wee County hurlers a place in the division 3A final against Warwickshire.

Meathman O’Brien took over the reins alongside Ken McKenna for the 2017 season and endured a difficult debut season with Louth failing to win a league or championship game last year. However, speaking earlier this year O’Brien who took sole charge of the team ahead of the 2018 campaign insisted Louth hurling teams could enjoy success if they were prepared to dedicate themselves to the cause.

And that insistence has certainly proved accurate with Louth enjoying an excellent division 3a campaign with victories over Tyrone and Longford as well as draws against Warwickshire and Monaghan helping O’Brien’s side finish second in the table to set up a final showdown with Warwickshire.

Talk of a final for Louth seemed fanciful following the opening weekend of the league with O’Brien’s charges suffering a sobering 3-18 to 1-6 defeat away to Roscommon. Since that opening day defeat Louth have remained undefeated with the introduction of Clareman Niall Arthur to the panel proving to be a masterstroke by O’Brien. According to the Louth manager each and every one of his squad deserve credit for committing themselves to the cause.

‘Listen, every one of them boys deserve great credit for their efforts this season. Myself and Ken came in last year and there were a few issues with levels of commitment and because of that results did not go our way. I said back then that it was possible to bring success to Louth hurling but the key thing was that everybody had to believe in what we were doing and row in behind us.

‘We are working off a very small pool here in Louth with only four clubs in the county but I have to say the dedication and commitment from the lads has been immense and they are getting their rewards now for the work they’ve been putting in. We have reached a division 3a league final which is a big deal for us. We’ve done it through a combination of effort and desire from all the lads, the management team

and the county board. We’re all rowing the boat in the same direction and we deserve to be in this final.

‘We brought Niall Arthur in a couple of games into the league and he has been brilliant for us. He’s a fantastic hurler and he’s really delivering ingdelivering for usus. I definitely feel that ththere is more to come from this team however. We have nothing to fefear from Warwickshire. Of course, we realise that they are a very good team and they are good hhonest hurlers who arare keeping the game alivalive over there. You have to respect that. We drew wwith them in Darver last monmonth in a game that could have went either way so as I said we won’t fear them,’ stated Philip (pictured above). Arrangements for the final were due to be announced yesterday (Monday) but speaking on Sunday Philip expressed his wishes that the game be held on the weekend after next.

‘I’m hearing that the final will probably be this weekend’s which I’m hoping is wrong as I feel that both sides deserve a rest ahead of the final. Warwickshire are just after travelling to Roscommon and I’m sure they would like an extra week to recover. It’s Paddy’s weekend as well which is a weekend a lot of hurling people including myself would tend to travel to Croke Park for the club finals so I would hope that the county finals are moved back a week to account for this. I’m guessing the match will be played at a neutral venue and with Warwickshire landing into Dublin I’d imagine they will play it in Dublin somewhere. But listen, no matter when or where it is we will be ready and we will be giving it our all to finish the job off,’ promised Philip.