Carlow manager Paul Bealin has admitted that his side's draw for the first round of the Tommy Murphy Cup against Antrim at Casement Park has will not be an easy task for the Barrowsiders in Belfast. Bealin's charges exited the All-Ireland Championship to Meath back in May and the Carlow boss believes that his players should have every reason to be motivated ahead of their clash with the Saffrons. "I will admit that they would have been one of the two teams that we would have liked to avoid but we will have little trouble motivating the players for the match now," said Bealin. "No disrespect to London or Kilkenny but it wouldn't have been the same if we had got one of them. Now the players know what they have to do. Antrim stretched Cavan in the Championship and the home draw is definitely going to be worth three points to them. It is also on a Saturday evening but we will be prepared and ready." The Dublin native will no doubt be looking for Carlow to make a mark in the second tier competition this summer after suffering an emphatic loss against the Royals in the first round of their Leinster Championship campaign. Tweet

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