Following Annaduff’s bright start to the Intermediate Championship on the weekend, a recent episode of the Leitrim GAA Podcast looks back to a interview with their star defender Hugh Moylan from the weeks leading into that game.
A disappointing league campaign saw Annaduff lose all their games and be relegated from Division 1, however they are now aligned for a strong run at the Intermediate Championship after a dominant display against Drumreilly in Round 1. Speaking on the Finalwhistle.ie Leitrim GAA Podcast a few weeks back, Hugh talked through the league campaign and what it meant for championship season.
Annaduff had yet to gain points in Division 1 put had put in some really commendable performances, including a two-point loss to Aughawillan. “We were 10 points down in the second-half and in other games this year we would have gave up but the lads stuck at it. With a good side like Aughawillan it was a good result for us,” said Hugh.
Looking ahead to the championship, he pointed out that the side are faring well in terms of numbers, and after getting to the 2020 intermediate final he’s optimistic of a strong campaign once more. “I’m really looking forward to getting back into it this year. We’ve a lot of young lads there that got experience at Division 1 and we’ve the U20s that won a championship last year too so hopefully we’ll go far, he added.”
When asked if he was worried about any particular teams in the mix he pointed out that there are no easy opponents at intermediate grade. “Intermediate’s always tricky. I think a lot of people will be saying Allen Gaels and Aughnasheelin, but they’re all hard customers.”
Taking such a string of defeats in Division 1 was tough for Hugh and Annaduff, but they believed the level of competition will stand to them when it matters. “We’ve taken positives out of those defeats. Playing Division 1 heading into the Intermediate Championship will be a big boost.”
Hugh understood the challenge of taking these losses heading into the crucial part of the year but believed the Division 1 experience will come through. “You want to play at the top level and it’s probably going to give us more time on the ball coming from Division 1 into this championship so hopefully we’ll bring that and it will benefit us.”
This was certainly the case on the weekend when Annaduff comfortably beat Drumreilly 4-12 to 0-11. That fixture was played a week in advance and the remainder of Round 1 will get underway at 1pm this Sunday.
Con Sheehan
21 year old sports journalist from Drogheda. Student at Dublin City University. Drogheda United Correspondent for FinalWhistle.ie