Champ buzz something to Crow’ about

CARLOW’S Conor Crowley says that there’s still something special about a Championship win.

The introduction of the Tailteann Cup and importance of the League mean they vie with the Leinster Championship for importance.

But to Crowley (inset) the Championship is where it’s at and the buzz isn’t quite the same with the second tier Tailteann Cup.

Crowley was part of the Turlough O’Brien managed side that reached the 2018 Leinster semifinal, only to lose out to Laois by 0-12 to 0-8 at Croke Park.

On the way they thumped Louth by 11 points and shocked Kildare, beating them by seven.

Carlow open their campaign with a tough trip to Wexford Park this Sunday to face the inform home side, with the winners going up against Louth in the quarter-finals.

Lucky

“We were lucky over the last two years that we had relatively decent runs in the Tailteann

Cup but still, there’s always something special about a Championship win,” he said.

“I don’t think you can beat it. The League is great but to get that win in the Championship would be fantastic.

“We haven’t really been doing well in the Championship the last few years. In my first year on the panel we had a great run.

“We got to a Leinster semifinal and when you get those teams, the feeling in the county is unbelievable.

“So it would be class to maybe bring that back and get that kind of buzz back around Carlow football.”

He added: “I think they played Dublin, Monaghan and Tyrone just the year before I came in.

“I was at all of those matches, supporting them. The real feel around the county at that time was that that was how it was going to continue.

“But they were still fantastic days and it’s something that obviously we’d all look back on fondly from Carlow.”