Wicklow face Carlow in crucial league game
Must-win game as Micko's men bid for league honours
Credit: Photo: Gary O'Neill
Carnew's Nick Skelton keeps a tight hold of Phillip Healy of AGB during the Division 1 League game in Arklow on Sunday.
Wednesday March 03 2010
THIS IS another big weekend for Wicklow with three county teams in action in championship and league games. It is also a weekend that sees the start of the 2010 competitions in the county with a full-round of division one league games scheduled to be played.
Mick O'Dwyer's footballers have a home game in division four of the league against neighbours and arch-rivals Carlow on Sunday, a team that Wicklow have never found easy to beat.
Wicklow have recovered from the defeat to Clare in their opening league game, have got themselves into a challenging position for promotion with wins over Leitrim and London in their next two matches, but this is a must win match if they are to stay in the hunt for league honours.
Two county teams will take the field on Saturday with the hurlers away to Dublin's Fingal in their division 3B league opener and the U-21 footballers at home to Laois in the second round of the Leinster championship.
The U-21 footballers chalked up an impressive 313 to 0-10 win over Longford in their opening match two weeks ago but they can expect tougher opponents in Laois and a step up in performance will be needed for Wicklow to advance further.
Two years ago Wicklow sprang a surprise over Laois in this championship but paid dearly for it last year when they suffered a heavy defeat and it's hardly likely that Laois will be caught unawares for a second time in three years.
Still this is a useful Wicklow team, they reached the final of a Carlow tournament before being beaten by Dublin, but they must play at full throttle and with passion and determination for the full 60 minutes if they are to stand a chance of success.
Wicklow's hurlers are expected to be short some members from their squad for the league match against Fingal at Swords on Saturday as a number of players booked holidays for what was supposed to be a week off for Wicklow.
Wicklow were supposed to play Fingal a couple of weeks ago but the game had to be called off because of snow and hence the re-fixture was slotted into the gap in Wicklow's fixtures schedule.
Fingal have lost two of their best players to the Dublin county team but still they are a very formidable side indeed as they showed last weekend with an impressive 1-15 to 0-10 win over Sligo.
And as Dublin's win over beaten All-Ireland finalists Tipperary underlines, hurling in the capital continues on the up and up in recent times and hence Fingal will not be easily toppled.
Wicklow's hurlers have had an encouraging start to the new season after a dismal year in 2009, and winning the Kehoe Cup shield, including their win over Armagh, show that beating Fingal is not beyond their capability.
Armagh beat Fingal in the semi-final of the Kehoe Cup shield.
None of the three weekend matches is an easy assignment for Wicklow's teams, but if the teams approach their games in the right frame of mind and with the right spirit, then we are hopefully optimistic that victory can be achieved in all three matches.
- MARK KENNEDY
