Hurling & Camogie

Tough trip to London for Marty Mallon's young Down hurlers

Down's Eoghan Sands (left) netted twice in last year's Christy Ring Cup against London and bagged a hat-trick against Armagh last weekend. Pic Philip Walsh
Down's Eoghan Sands (left) netted twice in last year's Christy Ring Cup against London and bagged a hat-trick against Armagh last weekend. Pic Philip Walsh Down's Eoghan Sands (left) netted twice in last year's Christy Ring Cup against London and bagged a hat-trick against Armagh last weekend. Pic Philip Walsh

Christy Ring Cup Group 2 round two: London v Down (Ruislip, 2.30pm tomorrow)

ANY team which won its opening match by 28 points, scoring six goals in the process, should be confident, but Down hurlers know there's much work still to be done.

Marty Mallon's men have obviously put themselves in a good position with their thrashing of neighbours Armagh by 6-21 to 0-11 but that was only the first step.

Barring a disastrous defeat in Derry in a fortnight's time, victory tomorrow afternoon in London should assure Down of a semi-final place due to their scoring difference.

However, a loss in London would probably make that meeting in the Oak Leaf County a 'must not lose' showdown for the visitors, to decide who finishes in second spot in this section, assuming that Derry overcome Armagh today.

London will be favourites tomorrow, Down hopes not helped by experienced men being unable to return to action after injuries ruled them out against Armagh, says Mallon:

"No, we're struggling. John McManus definitely not, mightn't play Championship at all. Caolan Taggart definitely not for Sunday, and Rian Brannigan is still very doubtful.

"To me, John McManus and Caolan Taggart are two of the top defenders in the province, no question about that, and they'd been playing out of their skin for us.

"They're three very experienced players and we're replacing them with young lads, but that's the way it is.

"We're putting a teenager [Ruairi McCrickard] in at centre half who hasn't played senior hurling before, he's from a junior club [Liatroim], but he'll give it a go. You won't find out unless you throw them in.

"It's a difficult task as it is. We're light and we're small and I believe the London team is big and strong, especially down the spine of their team, with a lot of ability.

"But we went over [to play London] last year, nobody gave us a chance, and we beat them.

"The young lads are keen to get a run over to London and see where the experience takes us.

The League was a struggle for London, despite having home advantage in all their matches. They started with a 20-point hammering by Kerry, then lost by 10 to Meath, and 17 to Carlow.

However, the campaign ended in better style; they still lost to Westmeath, but only by five points, and finished up with a seven-point success against Kildare to avoid relegation down to Division 2B.

All but the Lilywhites are second tier Championship sides, so Fergal McMahon's side have been playing at a higher level than Down, who topped Division 2B but lost the final to Mayo.

Down's inexperienced defence will have to be wary of the lengthy puck-outs from London goalkeeper James Barrett, who was regularly able to target the last line of the Derry defence in Ballinascreen. The visitors finished strongly to win by two points.

The Exiles have dangerous attackers in the form of Aaron Sheehan, Richard Murphy, and Henry Vaughan, while Cork native Cillian Burke is an imposing player in their defence.

London can relax to an extent, in the knowledge that they should be too strong for Armagh in their third match, even though it will be in the Orchard County, but the Exiles should get their second victory tomorrow.