Hurlers host Lancashire in Lory Meagher round 3

Preview

Kevin Óg Carney

Cavan’s senior hurlers will attempt to take another step towards capturing an unprecedented league/championship double when they host Lory Meagher Cup rivals Lancashire this Saturday (1pm) at Kingspan Breffni.

Cavan have experienced mixed results and demonstrated erratic form since annexing the National Hurling League Division 3B title on April 1 last when they beat Leitrim in the decider.

With two matches under their belt in the championship (Lory Meagher Cup), the blues’ record reads as one defeat and one victory in the two rounds of the competition played to date.

Ollie Bellew’s charges travelled to Birmingham two weeks ago and were humbled (3-15 to 0-22) by hosts Warwickshire in a round one tie that looked to be going Cavan’s way only for the Exiles to find the net in the dying minutes of the game.

In a competition involving Longford, Leitrim, Monaghan, Warwickshire and Lancashire as well as Cavan, no one team has been showing the same consistency as Lancashire but Cavan’s 2-16 to 0-19 round two victory last Saturday over Monaghan at Kingspan Breffni has boosted morale and belief among Bellew’s boys.

However, Lancashire will go into this weekend’s duel with Cavan as odds-on favourites to build on their opening two victories; wins which saw them put Longford to the sword (3-21 to 2-17) in round one in Birmingham on April 15th and Leitrim latterly (4-15 to 1-15) last weekend in Drumshambo.

Cavan and Lancashire have already crossed swords this year. On February 2nd last, the two teams met in Abbottstown, Dublin in the National Hurling League. Would-be league champions Cavan produced a below-par display on that occasion and lost out by 0-14 to 3-11.

The defeat to Lancashire was particularly disappointing as Cavan had notched a landmark, shock win (1-13 to 0-14) away to Longford earlier in round one of the league.

So it may be a case of raising the question at this juncture; will the real Cavan please stand up? Certainly the aforementioned losses to Lancashire in Dublin and to Warwickshire in Birmingham in the league and championship respectively contrast sharply with Cavan’s victory (NHL) in Longford and their success in upsetting the odds last Saturday against Monaghan in the Lory Meagher Cup.

At this point, Lancashire are the only team with maximum points after two rounds of the Lory Meagher Cup and another victory this weekend will almost see them with at least one foot (and maybe two feet depending on other results) in the final.

Lancashire’s impressive results in the championship to date underlines the notion that league form counts for very little when it comes to the blue riband competition. The Exiles were bang average in the league and just a week after Cavan beat Longford in the opening round of the league, Longford beat Lancashire by 0-18 to 0-10 on March 11th.

Cavan faced Monaghan last weekend in a ‘must-win’ match and did the business. Unfortunately, the blues cannot afford to lose on Saturday next against Lancashire either. It’s another ‘must-win’ tie but, thankfully, the fact that Cavan have again home advantage could be their trump card.

Team-manager Ollie Bellew is fortunate in that he has all his players available to him and there is real competition for places now. While the make-up of the rearguard has been almost set in stone this year, there has been no such consistency of selection with regard to the midfield and forward sections of the team due to injury but, more to the point, indifferent form by certain individuals.

Like their football counterparts, Cavan’s senior hurling team is a goal-shy outfit relative to their rivals in the competition. Goals don’t come easy to Cavan’s hurlers. The need for the team to bag at least a brace of goals this Saturday cannot be ignored. Winning against Lancashire without finding the net more than once is almost unimaginable especially considering the Exiles’ capacity for goaling; starkly portrayed by their success in bagging three goals in their first round win over Longford and their four goals last time out against Leitrim.

Cavan went under to Lancashire in this year’s NHL largely because they conceded three goals without scoring any. A reversal of that statistic will see the blues safely over the line on Saturday (2pm) and with one foot inside Croke Park.

Last Saturday, the decent sized crowd of Cavan supporters on hand for the Ulster SFC clash in Kingspan Breffni helped greatly to usher the blues over the line against Monaghan. Good backing again this Saturday could see Cavan achieve their goal(s) for the second time inside a week.