Padraig O'Shea on Midleton young guns and Conor Lehane's return: 'He elevates the whole squad'

A good start to his term as Midleton manager for Padraig O’Shea on home turf on Sunday.

The Magpies produced a solid display in their opening RedFM Division 1 Hurling League game against Fr O’Neill’s running out 0-21 to 0-15 winners.

After finding the going rather tough in the opening half Midleton found their mojo in the second with O’Shea commending his side's resilience.

“We were probably slow starting off, but the wind was a big factor in the first half and in the second half Fr O’Neill’s played an out-and-out sweeper that really suited us,” said O’Shea.

Getting the attack right in the second half was crucial.

“We knew we would be slow getting into gear as we had very little done with the weather and state of pitches and we are glad just to get a game under our belt."

The return of Conor Lehane was greeted with relief by players and supporters alike and now that he's no longer involved with Cork he'll be a key figure all year.

Cork’s loss is definitely our gain and it is great just to have his presence at training as he elevates the whole squad, and the majority of the lads look up to him as Conor is a great leader.

“The thought of having him around at games and training for the year is all positive and to get a half hour into his legs as he is miles ahead of where he should be in terms of recovery.

“Conor picked up a bad injury before the county final last season and we will manage his load during this league campaign.” 

BUILDING

Midleton face St Finbarr’s in their opening Premier Senior Championship game but O’Shea believes the league is his sole priority at this stage of the season.

“The Barrs is a little bit away and although we will build up to the championship having a good league campaign is a priority.” 

Midleton won promotion back to the Division 1 league this season and O’Shea is delighted to be mixing it with the big guns again.

“The league is great when you see we got Cian Stack in and we would have had a few more only that the Intermediate team had played yesterday as we are trying to limit players playing two games over the weekend.

“Stack did play with the Intermediate team and made his senior debut in this game and the same for Conor Morley who chipped in with two points and almost scored a wonder goal at the death.” 

Blooding players and making sure the conveyor belt is consistently moving is a must for the Midleton camp.

“We are constantly looking for players who have the ability to play at the top tier but more importantly, we still have very good experienced players.

“The way the new format in the leagues are shows me many of the teams are fairly even with no standout team miles ahead of the pack.

“After playing Division 2 last season we are delighted to be mixing it with the cream again this season and I have no doubt the competition in the league will prepare us nicely for the forthcoming championship.

“My attitude is simple let’s take it one game at a time as see where that takes us.”