This article is from page 85 of the 2011-11-01 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 85 JPG
Éir e Óg v Ba llydu ff (Ker r y) @ Aust in St ack Pa r k, Tr a lee, Sunday 2pm (Pat Ca sey, Wat er for d) AFTER finally winning the intermediate title just over a week ago, Éire Óg will get their first taste of senior competitive action this Sunday when taking on the Kerry Senior Hurling Champions Ballyduff. Expectations were that it would be a much fancied Courcey Rovers that the Ennis side would be facing, a game that would also have given the Clare champions home advantage but instead a late rally of three unanswered points on Sunday ensured that it was Ballyduff who prevailed by 1-14 to 0-15.
Central to that victory were Ballyduff’s sizeable county senior contingent, five of which played against Clare in Division 2 of the National League back in March. The three Boyle’s, Michael (County Captain), Liam and Aidan along with wingback Padraig O’Grady and midfielder Paud Costello were all part of that 6-23 to 1-18 contest while four more of Sunday’s team, Eric O’Connor, Pat Joe Connolly, David Goulding and Padraig Boyle also played against Clare in the opening round of this year’s Munster minor championship.
Therefore, the Kerry champions have plenty of experience when you consider that only Shane O’Donnell represented Éire Óg on either occasion. Horses for courses you might argue, with the competition for places far different in Clare than in Kerry but equally big match experience is big match experience when it comes down to it whether you are winning or losing.
While last Sunday’s quarter-final was Ballyduff and indeed, Kerry’s first win in the competition, it was a breakthrough that has been coming for the past number of years as the standard of Kerry hurling has improved immensely.
Éire Óg will be wary of all the potential pitfalls but after getting the monkey of an intermediate title off their backs, they can afford to play with a little more freedom and less burden on their shoulders.
The Townies have nothing to lose and everything to gain as they may never get a better chance of capturing provincial silverware. Clare have had a decent pedigree in this competition over the last five years and Éire Óg have more than enough quality to match the achievements of Clooney/ Quin, Clonlara and Broadford who last reached the final in 2008. It will be close but if Éire Óg can match Ballyduff’s doggedness and utilise their extra quality up front, they might just get over what looks to be the toughest opposition in the competition. Verdict: Éíre Óg