On-form Mayo hurlers packing too much firepower for Louth
Mayo' Adrian Phillips has been in superb scoring form during this National Hurling League Division 3A campaign
The Mayo hurlers will look to maintain their perfect start to the Allianz National Hurling League Division 3A when Louth come to visit Hastings Insurance MacHale Park this Sunday at 2pm.
Ray Larkin and Brian Finn have a one-hundred percent record after the first three games of their joint-management tenure. They began life in charge with an eight-point win over Armagh in Castlebar and their most recent outing saw their team beat Cavan by seven points. In between these two games came their most prolific outing against Monaghan, showing no mercy in a 26-point victory over the Farney County.
Adrian Phillips has stepped up to become a leading scorer for Mayo this campaign. The Ballyhaunis man has scored 4-11 in the campaign thus far, including a hat trick amidst a 3-4 tally against Monaghan. Cormac Phillips has scored 0-15, mostly from frees while the likes of Liam Lavin have also chipped in. The Tooreen man has 1-10 in the National Hurling League thus far this season.
Mayo have also kept things rock solid at the back during this campaign. Their concession of 3-29 (38 points) is by far the lowest in Division 3A. Interestingly, bottom of the pile Armagh have the next best defence in the Division. The likes of Danny Hill and Conal Hession have been among the key names for Mayo’s rearguard. The Division has also allowed Larkin and Finn to blood some players from the county’s burgeoning Junior club ranks. The likes of Joe Burke (Moytura) and Matthew Connor (Caiseal Gaels) have all seen minutes in the last couple of weeks.
The hosts will have a potential League final place on their minds coming into this game but the Wee County could pose a different sort of challenge to what Mayo have quite handily brushed aside thus far.
They beat Monaghan by six points in their opening game but since suffered defeats to Cavan and Sligo. They were not games in which Louth went down without a fight however, as tallies of 1-19 against Cavan and 3-17 against Sligo show.
Darren Geoghegan has been their main scoring threat and has been responsible for 2-28 of their tally in the Division thus far. Conor Murphy has also chipped in with 3-4.
It will be a long journey across the length of the country for Louth and they face a Mayo team that is currently in fine fettle. Mayo should take a step closer to a League final place on Saturday.
