Carlow’s Nevin yearns for the big breakthrough

LIKE every championship, this summer begins with the weekend of the lesser lights.

Although Westmeath and Laois are hardly third-rate county teams, their opponents this week certainly are. Take Carlow, who offer the only resistance to Westmeath getting another chance to end their neighbourly jinx in the quarter-finals.

Johnny Nevin has been kicking ball with Carlow for nearly a decade now, has played on teams fingered by the public as the potential breakthrough team and has seen all the promise evaporate. This week, he is saying the same thing he has been saying for years before Carlow's championship opener we would be hopeful and out to do our best.