Carlow Senior Hurlers will take to the field for the third weekend in a row this weekend as they go in search of a semi final spot in the Christy Ring Cup.
Kildare provide the opposition for the second time this season, with the first meeting resulting in a draw during the National League on a day where Carlow performed quite poorly
This Saturday’s game is also at St Conleth’s Park in Newbridge just like the league encounter and the tight pitch makes it difficult to find space, however it also generally means that it should be a relatively high scoring game.
The Lilywhite’s suffered a surprise defeat to Wicklow last weekend and they only barely got over Mayo by a single point in Round 1.
Given how poor Mayo were against Carlow last Saturday, you would begin to question just how good or how bad Kildare actually are, however one thing that you can guarantee is if you take them for granted they will almost definitely punish you for it.
Carlow were far superior to the Westerners last week but they need to deliver the same performance again this time out.
It’s a similar situation to when Carlow trounced Armagh in the League, but this time they can’t get complacent or it will be lights out for the season.
Seamus Murphy is a massive loss to Carlow, while Paul Coady and Denis Murphy had been struggling but the latter two might be still in a position to make an appearance although Craig Wall will definitely miss out after a late red card last week.
We know Kildare have some really good players and Paul Divilly was exceptional in the League meeting between the two sides along with the Reidy brothers in midfield so Carlow will really have to gain a foothold in this crucial sector.
I expect a heavy Kildare backlash coming here and Carlow will have to be prepared to put out the fire and that’s where the big challenge lies.
Throw in on Saturday is at 3pm and we have Full Live Commentary on air and online thanks to Flynn’s Carlow Nissan.