Hurlers aim to pick up second win in succession
Hurling
Kevin Óg Carney
Cavan senior hurling team-manager Ollie Bellew doesn’t do ‘carried away’... even when the noisy neighbours are about to call.
When all about him are losing their heads, the Belfast native generally remains in almost comatose-like state, rock solid, non-plussed even.
Ahead of the visit of Monaghan to Kingspan Breffni tomorrow (Saturday, 3pm) for a second round Lory Meagher Cup tie, Bellew is calmness personified.
“Listen, we’ll not get carried away,” the manager predictably predicted after his side’s Lory Meagher Cup cakewalk (4-32 to 1-11) in Birmingham last Sunday afternoon.
Cavan wiped Warwickshire off the field on their home patch in their opening round clash with the Exiles with the final scoreline fairly reflecting how the west was won.
“On the back of our league campaign (relegation) we wanted a lift and the lads obliged and now its all about sustaining this new momentum over this weekend,” Bellew added.
“We’re very pleased with the result and also the performance but there’s a lot of work still to do and Monaghan (3pm) in Breffni on Saturday is going to be a very different ball game but we’ll put in the proper preparation for it and see how it goes.”
Bellew says he took a lot of pleasure in Birmingham from seeing his charges “play with an understanding of how we want them to play and the template we are working off.”
“We got 36 scores which is great. We got a right few early on which knocked the stuffing out of Warwickshire a bit and, in fairness to the lads, we did a lot of things right.”
Getting a lot of things right can cause its own problems for a think-tank and the feeling abroad in Cavan hurling circles is that Bellew et al will now be asked to really earn their corn as last weekend’s result will undoubtedly beget expectation within the dressing room.
“Our job now in the run up to next Saturday’s game and beyond that is to make sure there’s absolutely no complacency in the camp.
“We’ve an awful lot of competition for places with some players just marginally ahead of others in the pecking order and we’ve spotted a couple of places where we can improve the team but we’ll roll up our sleeves as a management team and scrutinise our display and the video and see where we can tighten things up.”
Bellew confessed that if he was nit-picking he would probably highlight what he considered a need to be “more clinical” in looking for goals. And more efficient with the ball in the backline too.
“We want to play good, free-flowing hurling and be an attractive team to watch but, of course, results are all-important and we know that while throwing the shackles off, we have to be mindful that quality opposition lies on further down the line and we have to be respectful of their ability to cause us a lot of problems.”
Ahead of this Saturday’s (3pm) second round game in Kingspan Breffni, Bellew is pleased to report that he will have everyone available for selection with injuries to some key players thankfully resigned to the past.
“We’ll have a full deck to choose from and we’ll make our squad and team selection based on a fair assessment of each individual player and what we feel they can bring to the table against Monaghan.
“We’re delighted that, despite players being left out of the starting XV on occasions, they have remained upbeat and strong and at the core of the squad’s bid to make Croke Park again. The subs are key to us driving on for the rest of the season.
“But, for Saturday, we’re hoping that whoever is involved, we can finish off a lot of the moves we’re creating in front of goal that wee bit better. Being more clinical in their (Monaghan) half of the field will be a huge thing for us on Saturday.”