NHL div 3A round 5 Sunday March 29
Kildare v Mayo, 2.30pm in Newbridge
Last Saturday Mayo crept out of the relegation zone in division 3A of the National Hurling League with a gritty performance over a rated Armagh side. After the game, manager Martin Brennan paid tribute to his players, especially his defence, who had restricted Armagh to just seven points over the 75 minutes of hurling: “It was a good positive show by the lads. They really dug deep in the second half when Armagh piled on the pressure - especially in the last 10 minutes. Our backs were superb, and when we were forced to go into the subs bench, they too fought hard when introduced.”
Next Sunday the Mayo bandwagon hits the road again, as Mayo face the Lilywhites in Newbridge at 2.30pm. Brennan will be looking for more of the same as his side now seeks to head towards the top of the table, such is the closeness between all sides in division 3A. When asked about his side’s chances against Kildare, Brennan was in a positive mood: “It's a nice position to be in, having to go to Kildare seeking a result. If we beat Kildare we could finish in the top two of the league, and could end up in a league final. I expect a big show again from the lads. We will be missing a few lads due to injury and other things, including Aidan Connolly, but I believe we can pull another result out of the bag in Kildare,” replied the Westport native.
With Adrian Freeman (dead-leg ), Derek McDonnell (concussion ) and Niall Murphy (ankle ) all nursing injuries this week, along with the unavailability of captain and full-back Aidan Connolly, manager Brennan along with Pete Finnerty will be forced to use their panel of players as they seek to leapfrog Armagh to sit on top of division 3A alongside runaway leaders Meath.
