17 January 2013
In a twist of sporting fate our new hurling manager Kevin Ryan’s first competitive fixture pits his new look Antrim side against his previous charges, Carlow in the opening round of the Walsh Cup this coming Sunday in Dr Cullen Park.
Kevin told the county website this evening that he will look forward to catching up with a few friendly Carlow faces, but them from then on its down to business. And the business in hand is getting Antrim’s year off to a winning start.
“All I am thinking about at this stage is Sunday’s game. Yes it will be nice to see some old friends at Carlow but beyond that it could be any team we are playing. Whether it is Carlow, Waterford, Limerick or whoever, we have a game to play and a game we want to try and win.”
Ryan will take nothing for granted as he knows as well as Antrim fans do just how close the encounters between Antrim and Carlow have been in recent years. There has not been much more than a single score difference between the two sides whether that is in league or championship hurling. Most games between the Saffrons and Barrowmen have been in Casement so travelling south will not make this game any easier.
The prize at stake for the winner is a home clash V Galway in the next round but the thought has not crossed the mind of Antrim’s new boss.
“I value the Walsh Cup very much, it is a chance to get well organised and competitive games under our belt before the National League. We will want as many games as possible but only one is on our minds at the moment and that is Carlow.”
Asked about his choice of captain for the year, Ryan was quick to praise Neil McManus.
“Neil is a natural leader anyway, I saw that as soon as I came here. He has also been around the squad for a few years at this stage and younger players in particular look up to him. Eddie McCloskey is vice captain and of course he is tied up with Loughgiel at the moment, but I think we have made the right choice when it comes to leaders on the field.”
So we begin a year for the county hurlers which we all hope will take us long, long into the summer. It all starts in Carlow this Sunday with a game that will be tough to win, and where the opposition will be determined to start out on a successful footing too. They used to have Kevin Ryan patrolling the sideline and driving them to higher levels of effort and collective will to win.
He’s a Saffron now.