Niall Carew’s side claimed their first win of 2022 against Waterford last Saturday night in the Allianz National Football League in Netwatch Cullen Park.
The Barrowsiders were coming off back-to-back defeats to both London and Sligo. Waterford was never going to be no easy pushovers though, having drawn with Tipperary and suffering a single-point defeat to London. Some fans did not seem overly confident that the Carlow side would come away with the result. In the end, they did win on a scoreline of 2-12 to 2-08.
Allianz Football League Div 4:
— Carlow GAA (@Carlow_GAA) February 19, 2022
Fulltime@Carlow_GAA 2-12@WaterfordGAA 2-08
👏🇬🇳👏🇬🇳👏🇬🇳👏🇬🇳👏🇬🇳👏🇬🇳👏@itcarlow 🇬🇳 #carlowrising 🇬🇳
Speaking to our Brendan Hennessy after the game, Carew said he was pleased with his side’s performance.
“I am very pleased with the reaction and response. I thought we defended very well, we probably backed off a small bit and invited them onto us a couple of times, and they got a couple of scores from that. Other than that though I am very happy. “
Many Carlow fans will lament the number of missing players against Sligo. With Sigerson Cup in full swing and injuries galore, man younger players got the chance to stretch their legs in a Carlow jersey. With those players gaining valuable experience and more senior members coming back to the squad, with Eoghan Ruth Sean Gannon, and Ross Dunphy are all expected to come back into the fold soon. Carew seems hopeful about the rest of the campaign.
“It makes a massive difference. You see when Dublin are four or five lads down lads, they can struggle. So we were down nine against Sligo. We have some players back in the next few weeks so we will only get stronger and stronger.”
“I am delighted for the lads, they have put in such an effort. They all stick together, no lad has dropped off the panel. The boys know this is long-term. If we can consolidate our position now and get up the table as far as we can, make a real go in the Summer ( Championship) and have a real burst for promotion next year.”
Listen back to the full interview on Scoreline Extra below.
Carlow will now take on Cavan away from home.
