Christy Ring Cup: Westmeath v Roscommon (on Saturday in Cusack Park, Mullingar at 3.30 pm) Seamus Duke 2007 was a magical year for Roscommon hurling. Victory in the National Hurling League Division Three was followed by a fantastic win in the Nicky Rackard Cup in Croke Park last August. Days never to be forgotten truly. However the ‘price’ of success in the lower ranked competitions in hurling means a step up the following year and as expected Roscommon are finding the going very tough at the higher level in 2008. With several players opting out, and more injured, the league campaign never got going and relegation was inevitable. Roscommon then drew the short straw in the Christy Ring Cup when they were grouped with Westmeath – the team everyone wanted to avoid – and also with Wicklow, who are a very seasoned outfit, so it is going to be really tough for the team to get through the group. When I talked to the Roscommon team manager David McConn earlier in the week he outlined his frustration with a number of issues as he prepared for the two games (Wicklow at home the following weekend is the second game). ‘We have prepared as well as possible for these vital games but there have been two major issues. The club championships have taken a huge toll with regard to injuries. Michael Kelly, Alan Kelly, Kevin Conneally and Gary Fallon were all either out or extremely doubtful and then Colin Kelly went to the USA and we have injury doubts about Enda Morris, David Loughnane, Keith McDermott and Tom Reddignton, so you can see how we are fixed’ he said. ‘However training has gone very well and the lads that are there have shown fantastic commitment and I couldn’t be happier with them. Things have gone really well for the past two weeks but ideally what we would really have liked was five weeks’ training
This Week’s Digital Edition
