National Hurling League Division 2A

Down v Carlow

Sunday, Ballycran, 1pm

IT is a case of trying to bounce back for the Ards men this weekend. The Down hurlers lost to Kerry by 4-18 to 0-19 last weekend in a terribly frustrating result.

Having led by 0-11 to 0-9 in the first half, they conceded four majors in the second half to gift victory to the Kingdom.

A scalp as big as the Kerry team in round one would have been such a perfect start for Ronan Sheehan’s side that it will be difficult for them to get over that defeat. But get over it they must.

What they may do is consider the positives of their performance against a strong Kerry team. Paul Sheehan’s free-taking was a  big plus, and he was very accurate from placed balls and gave Down plenty of confidence because of his accuracy.

There is good news on the team front as Conor Woods returns from suspension this weekend. Phelim Savage is also available. The bad news is that John McManus picked up an injury last weekend and is going to be out for a couple of weeks. Barry Trainor, Ryan McCusker and Ruairi Campbell are still out and unlikely to  be fit for this weekend. They should return next week though.

Manager Ronan Sheehan will also be pleased to have seen scores coming from Donal Hughes, Eoghan Sands, Ronan Costello and Liam Savage. Tim Prenter and PJ Davidson were also on the scoresheet and that suggests that Down have plenty of scoring options.

The problem for Down came when Kerry switched Shane Nolan into the full-forward line and that meant that Kerry were able to win more possession in attack.

Handling changing attacking formations will be something that they will look at in the lead up to this game against Carlow. The Down team will expect another forward onslaught from a Carlow team who scored 3-19 to 0-17 against Wicklow last weekend. Like Down’s game against Kerry, it was goals that were crucial in that game. Martin Kavanagh’s two second-half goals were key to getting Carlow over the line after they had led by two at half time.

Kavanagh scores from play and from placed balls so he is a major threat. Down will also have to watch Chris Nolan in the forward line. He chipped over three points against Wicklow. Craig Wall, and John Michael Nolan in the half-forward line also got on the scoresheet It is going to be another serious test but this weekend’s game will be about confidence.

Will Down be able to compartmentalise the frustration of losing to Kerry last weekend, or will Carlow keep their momentum going after last weekend’s victory?

Verdict: Down