Carlow’s intercounty season threw in last week in the Kehoe Cup with a victory over Kildare.
Carlow were 1-25 to 19 points winners over David Herity’s Kildare side. This Sunday see Tom Mullaleys side take on Meath in Kilmessan at 2pm.
This will mark Mullaley’s second season in charge and one of his backroom team Pat Murphy believes the youthful talent at the disposal of the side is a cause for excitement. Speaking to Scoreline he said;
“I do not like the word transition as it can be used as an excuse. The truth of the matter is that a good number of players have retired over the years Edward Byrne, Alfie Corcoran, and Seamus Murphy, they were big players in the past. We are excited, we have a lot of young talent coming through the u20’s. We have serious talent there.”
“They have a long process though, giving them game time and getting them up to being a county hurler in today’s context. That is a huge thing, they are a very genuine bunch, they are very enthusiastic and I think they are willing to learn. We are very positive and looking forward to the future in Carlow.”
Speaking with Murphy it was clear to decipher that the staff are quite happy with the work being done behind the scenes with the intercounty side ;
“The previous manager, Colm Bonnar, had been there for four years. He did a tremendous job and got some excellent wins, but it was time for a change. The new men are hugely professional in their approach. 2022 intercounty hurling has moved onto a seriously new level. All the boxes in preparation have to be ticked. I think we are attempting to address all those with the players on an individual and collective basis.”
When mentioning possible goals for the side to aim towards, it was refreshing to hear Murphy not bring up cups and accolades. He was keener to highlight the work that needs to be done to improve Carlow hurlers in general.
“We certainly would be very positive in terms of what we hope to achieve with the team. The goal is to be seriously competitive, use the league in preparation for the Championship. To work on attributes that lead to success, things like work rate, team play, support play, intelligent hurling.”
You can listen to the full interview below on Scoreline.ie
