Hurlers will go all out for glory promises Cunniffe

No sooner had Leitrim hurlers booked their place in the Allianz NHL Division 3B Final and Martin Cunniffe was stating that his charges would be “going all out” to lift the title.

A 6-21 to 3-7 demolition of Cavan booked Leitrim's place in the final against Lancashire and the Leitrim manager is looking forward to the decider - “We will be going all out the next day. There is no saying that we won’t. We are going out to win the league.”

Lancashire defeated the Green & Gold in Ballinamore in the county's only Division 3B reverse but a defiant Cunniffe believes the result can be turned around - “They (Lancashire) were lucky enough that day. I suppose we could have had a draw.”

Leitrim had gone into Sunday's game against Cavan concerned that a loss could leave them in a three-way playoff but they soon put those fears to bed. But the Leitrim manager admitted his team weren't taking anything for granted.

“It was easier than we thought. We prepared hard for this. The lads put everything into it in the last fortnight. This was the league semi-final as far as we were concerned. We had to win and we won. We are happy with that.”

Cunniffe conceded that Leitrim’s four goals before half time ended the game as a contest saying “that turned the game around. At halftime it was as good as over, I suppose. It is very good for the lads. They are in a league final. They worked hard for it and they are in that final.”

Martin would have preferred a harder test ahead of the League Final but added “the fact that we had to win the game today and we had to prepare diligently for it in the last couple of weeks put the lads in great shape.”

No venue or date has yet been confirmed for the Final but it is believed that the game may be fixed for a Cavan venue on Saturday, March 24. See www.leitrimobserver.ie for more news on the final when it comes available.