Carlow hurling manager Kevin Ryan says his players must take nothing for granted when they travel to Newbridge this Saturday to take on Kildare in the second round of the Christy Ring Cup. The Waterford native's charges scored an unconvincing win over Wicklow last Saturday, while the Lilywhites shocked Westmeath and Ryan is hoping that his side can earn themselves a break by advancing to the semi-finals with a win this weekend. "Kildare have lots of momentum after league, Under 21s and Westmeath. They must fancy themselves at home," said the Carlow boss. "The carrot is there of place in the semi-final with three weeks to prepare. Exams are a distraction and we have niggling injuries. We are coming back to form but could badly do with three weeks clear to the semi-final." The one thing that is clear for Ryan and his side is that they must improve on their shooting if they are through the St Conleth's Park encounter and the Barrowsiders' boss is confident they can do that. "There were some very good performances against Wicklow but converting 20 out of 35 chances needs to be worked on," he admitted. "We will improve, the attitude is good. We all expect to improve on the Wicklow game and know we have to have a chance." Tweet

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