Allianz Hurling League Division 2B round two
Wicklow v Tyrone (Sunday, Aughrim, 2pm)
A SECOND win in two outings is the target for newly-promoted Tyrone as they head for Aughrim and a Division 2B clash with Wicklow.
The Red Hands travel with confidence following their thrilling victory over London last weekend, and the points at stake would go a long way towards consolidating their position in the higher grade.
A 1-26 haul in their opening game showcased the firepower in the Tyrone side, with Mickey Little assuming the free-taking duties peformed with such clinical brilliance for so many years by the late Damian Casey, to fire over 11 points.
Another solid team display is the plan for manager Michael McShane, who wants his players to draw confidence from their encouraging start.
“I’m on record as saying when I took over Tyrone that I thought they were punching below their weight,” said McShane.
“This is the kind of level they deserve to be playing at.
“And I think they have proved that they’re ready for this level of hurling.”
Chris Kearns, Ruairi Slane, Sean Duffin, Lorcan Devlin and Little will be to the forefront in carrying the Tyrone challenge on the road.
Wicklow will be looking to bounce back from defeat to Meath in their opening game, and McShane expects a backlash from the Leinster side on their own turf.
“Wicklow have played in Division 2A, which was two levels above us for a few years.
“Of course it’s going to be difficult, especially down there, but we’ll go there next week with a lot of confidence, with a lot of momentum, and there’ll be a great drive in training this week.
“Every game we play is going to be a step up from what we played last year or the year before, so every game is going to be difficult.”
The Ballycastle native was delighted with the courage shown by his team in their first game in a higher division against a strong London side.
“We had heroes right throughout the team. our defence was immense, and we just showed a great courage.
“We could have folded when they got their third goal and went four points up, because we had had a three point lead.
“It wasn’t goals that won it, it was patience, it was getting the ball to the right men, getting the ball into the right areas and popping them over eh bar, I thought some of the points we got were first class.”
