Louth hurler Diarmuid Murphy is hoping the Reds can open their NHL account with victory over Sligo.

The Wee County entertain the Yeats men at Clan na Gael Park on Sunday in a repeat of the 2008 Nicky Rackard Cup decider. It's the start of a new era for Louth hurling, with Paddy Kelly at the helm, and Murphy notes:

"There's still a couple of us in the panel who are hurting from that [2008] final and hopefully we can get one over on them and lay down a marker for the rest of the season.

"Last season we lost our first two games and we were playing catch-up, so it's important that we get off to a good start on Sunday.

"Since Paddy has come in we have been playing good stuff and the Kehoe Cup games against Kildare and Trinity have really helped.

"Last year we had a small enough panel but now we have 26 or 27 lads who can all come in and you have to prove every session that you are good enough to start." Tweet

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