Carlow manager Turlough O'Brien has stressed that they are not dwelling on the loss of influential midfielder Brendan Murphy and it showed in their performance last weekend.

The Barrowsiders easily swept aside the challenge of Louth in the Leinster SFC opener last weekend. The win was all the more sweeter as they achieved it without the talismanic Murphy.

The Rathvilly clubman opted off the panel after the NFL Division Four final defeat to Laois and decided to spend the summer in the U.S.

His decision raised many eyebrows both inside and outside the county as he left at a time when Carlow football is arguably at an all-time high.

However, his loss was not felt last weekend and O'Brien states in the Carlow Nationalist that the team was never about one man.

"It is one man. You have to get on with it. People like to make a big thing of it but as far as we are concerned, it is on the pitch and that is what lads are training for," said O'Brien.

"Any team is likely to lose someone through injury. You cannot dwell on losing a player. We had Eoghan Ruth and Sean Murphy in the middle of the field and I thought they were a fantastic pairing. That is the way football goes."

Stay up-to-date with this weekend's football and hurling championship action on our Match Tracker where we will be bringing live updates and scores from around the grounds.

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