The only way is up for the Longford senior hurlers

There is an immediate opportunity for the county to gain some measure of revenge when they face Fermanagh in the bottom tier of the National League at Glennon Brothers Pearse Park this Sunday,  throw-in 2pm. 

Under the guidance of new manager Adrian Moran, Longford begin their Division 3B campaign this weekend after receiving a bye in the opening round. 

Westmeath native Moran from the Ringtown club brings a wealth of hurling management and coaching experience to the role, having previously taken charge of the Westmeath U- 21s, the Leitrim senior hurlers and who assisted Michael Ryan with the Westmeath seniors. 

“We are under no illusion as to the work that has to be put in for Longford to get back up to both the Nicky Rackard Cup Championship and Division 3A of the National League. Our aim is to achieve both over the next two years.

“Our focus is getting a group of players together, bringing in some youth to compliment the experienced players and to freshen up the panel, and to put some new structures in place,’ stated Moran in a recent interview with the Leader.

 The target is clearly promotion in both the league and championship and the Longford hurling stock has fallen since spending six successive seasons competing in the Nicky Rackard Cup prior to relegation from the fourth tier of senior hurling in 2020. 

Five teams are involved in the battle for the Division 3B league title this season and if Longford can manage to beat Fermanagh on Sunday they will be in a strong position to qualify for the knockout stages. Longford are also at home to Leitrim with away fixtures against Lancashire and Cavan.

Fermanagh scored a fairly comprehensive 1-20 to 0-13 win over Cavan in Round 1 last weekend. 

Longford had high hopes of reaching the Lory Meagher Cup final last year but their momentum was hampered with the narrow league defeat against Monaghan resulting in relegation to Division 3.

They failed to build on a brilliant start to their championship campaign, a landslide 8-25 to 3-19 win over Louth, and ended up with absolutely nothing to show for their efforts in the aftermath of the bitter disappointment of losing out to Fermanagh on a 1-21 to 1-13 scoreline in the last four clash at Glennon Brothers Pearse Park.

In the build up to this year’s National League, Longford warmed up with games against Wicklow and Louth in the Kehoe Shield and the new manager Moran tried out a few newcomers.

A few regulars were missing in those defeats and while little emphasis will be placed on the results in the low key Leinster pre-season tournament, it was an opportunity for the management team to get a better idea in selecting the strongest possible team for the matches that really matter.

Johnny Casey is the county senior hurling captain this year while the other established players are Joe O’Brien, Enda Naughton, Keelan Cox, David Buckley, Gerry Moore, Aidan Sheridan, Cian Kavanagh, John Mulhern, Cathal Mullane, Paul Barden, Evan Tully and the Murray brothers Karl and Reuben.

Longford should certainly be contenders to capture the league title and gain promotion to Division 3A next season and a win over Fermanagh will be a big step in that direction.

2022 Allianz National Hurling League Division 3B Fixtures

Round 1 - Longford a bye

Round 2 - Sunday February 13: Longford v Fermanagh, Glennon Brothers Pearse Park, 2pm

Round 3 - Sunday February 27: Longford away v Lancashire

Round 4 - Sunday March 6: Longford v Leitrim, Glennon Brothers Pearse Park

Round 5 - Sunday March 20: Cavan v Longford, Kingspan Breffni Park

The top team will qualify for the National Hurling League Division 3B decider with the second and third placed teams meeting in the semi-final.

2022 Lory Meagher Cup Fixtures

Round 1: Sunday, April 10: Leitrim v Longford

Round 2: Sunday, April 17: Longford v Lancashire

Round 3: Saturday, April 23: Longford v Louth

Round 4: Saturday, May 7: Monaghan v Longford

Round 5: Saturday, May 14: Cavan v Longford

The top two teams qualify for the final at Croke Park on Saturday/Sunday, May 21/22