HOW DO YOU shake you off the sinking feeling of disappointment that wraps itself around a playing group in the wake of a county final defeat?
Most have to stew over the loss over a long winter, the curious situation facing Sarsfields after the reversal they suffered in last month’s Cork final, was having to prepare for a Munster club campaign.
The dominance of divisional team Imokilly created that scenario for Sarsfields as they entered yesterday’s Munster semi-final against Clare’s Feakle.
The omens were not good for them beforehand. The club’s history in Munster had been a struggle, they had played eight senior hurling games in the province before yesterday, a run that produced one win, one draw and six losses.
Two of those games were back in 1997, but more recently the 2008 victory ove Clare’s Clonlara stood out amidst losses to De La Salle (2008 and 2010), Thurles Sarsfields (2012), Kilmallock (2014), and Ballygunner (2023).
On a wider level the record of Cork clubs made for wretched reading with just one victory recorded (Glen Rovers against Patrickswell in 2016) since 2009.
That was the backdrop as Sarsfields arrived at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, seeking to pick their minds and bodies up off the floor. The response in delivering an eight-point success left manager Johnny Crowley beaming with pride.
“The hardest thing over the last three weeks was the worry of the disappointment.We never questioned their talent. It was just today and for the last two weeks, we just said that our desire has to be greater than our talent.
“We work so hard on those basics. You get rid of the hurt and get it out of the system by desire. We said that once we could get on the breaking ball and the secondary ball, we have the hurling that can hurt teams. We did that today and it was just so pleasing to see that.
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“They’re Clare county champions, they’re coming from the county of the All-Ireland champions – they have to have character and we knew that. Again, it was just the composure and the desire and once we had those ingredients, I think our hurling will always see us through.”
Sarsfields fashiong a merited 1-25 to 1-17 succcess, four weeks after losing out 1-23 to 0-17. It was instructive to see them flip their fortunes in the finale of games.
After 47 minutes against Imokilly, Sarsfields were ahead by a point but lost the remainder of the match 0-12 to 0-1, albeit while hurling into a fierce gale that blew down the pitch.
After 48 minutes against Feakle, the teams were deadlocked before the Cork side stepped on the accelerator to burn their opponents heading down the stretch and notching eight unanswered points.
Strikingly they had ripped up their starting fifteen since the setback in Cork. Ben Graham was drafted into goal, Cillian Roche introduced at centre-back, while Cathal and Colm McCarthy formed a new midfield partnership.
Cathal McCarthy of Sarsfields in action against Enda Noonan of Feakle yesterday. James Lawlor / INPHO
James Lawlor / INPHO / INPHO
“We took a chance playing Cathal out around midfield. He’s primarily a back but we rejigged the team today, we freshened the whole thing up, and I think we got our reward. There were a few lads came in today and they were immense.
“Ben Graham between the sticks was very, very good and we knew that his range would give us an extra 15 yards on the opposition side and maybe turn the half-back line. That was basically why he was in there.
“The key word is ‘freshen’. We said that to the lads, ‘Over the next three weeks, we’re going to freshen the whole thing.
“We’re thrilled, delighted.”
The pay-off was in performances like Cathal McCarthy’s tally of four points from play, a figure matched by Cork forward Jack O’Connor. The galloping strides of Cian Darcy caused major issues for Feakle, and he worked well in tandem with Daniel Hogan.
Inside Aaron Myers caught fire with 1-6 from play. He spent the summer in the USA, hurling for Galway Boston for a time, before returning to start for the first time in the Cork semi-final. Yesterday his sharpness and accuracy near goal were key ingredients.
If that all represents good news, the next task facing Sarsfields is an onerous one.
When they landed in Walsh Park last year, they were dimissed by 17 points by a Ballygunner team in commanding and ruthless form.
A rematch awaits in a fortnight, Sarsfields needing to take down a team chasing four-in-a-row in Munster.
The memories of last year’s loss remain fresh in their minds.
Sarsfields’ Eoghan Murphy dejected after the game. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
“It’s our first time as a club we’re in a Munster final and something we’re very proud of,” says Crowley.
“You can’t have any excuses, It was a bad day (last year) but look we just didn’t perform. Now we have a chance to, at the very least, we’ve a chance now to put a performance in and show that we’re not as bad as that.
“You look at the likes of Eoin O’Sullivan and Kearney and Craig and these lads. They’ve played 17 Cork senior hurling championships in a row, next year will be their 18th please God. They’ve only played six Munster championships so this was the first time that they’ve been in a club final and it’s just reward for them as well.
“I’m delighted for them, I’m so proud of the whole group, look we’ll give it a go on Sunday week.”
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'A chance to show we're not as bad as that' - The Munster final challenge facing Sarsfields
HOW DO YOU shake you off the sinking feeling of disappointment that wraps itself around a playing group in the wake of a county final defeat?
Most have to stew over the loss over a long winter, the curious situation facing Sarsfields after the reversal they suffered in last month’s Cork final, was having to prepare for a Munster club campaign.
The dominance of divisional team Imokilly created that scenario for Sarsfields as they entered yesterday’s Munster semi-final against Clare’s Feakle.
The omens were not good for them beforehand. The club’s history in Munster had been a struggle, they had played eight senior hurling games in the province before yesterday, a run that produced one win, one draw and six losses.
Two of those games were back in 1997, but more recently the 2008 victory ove Clare’s Clonlara stood out amidst losses to De La Salle (2008 and 2010), Thurles Sarsfields (2012), Kilmallock (2014), and Ballygunner (2023).
On a wider level the record of Cork clubs made for wretched reading with just one victory recorded (Glen Rovers against Patrickswell in 2016) since 2009.
That was the backdrop as Sarsfields arrived at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, seeking to pick their minds and bodies up off the floor. The response in delivering an eight-point success left manager Johnny Crowley beaming with pride.
“The hardest thing over the last three weeks was the worry of the disappointment.We never questioned their talent. It was just today and for the last two weeks, we just said that our desire has to be greater than our talent.
“We work so hard on those basics. You get rid of the hurt and get it out of the system by desire. We said that once we could get on the breaking ball and the secondary ball, we have the hurling that can hurt teams. We did that today and it was just so pleasing to see that.
“They’re Clare county champions, they’re coming from the county of the All-Ireland champions – they have to have character and we knew that. Again, it was just the composure and the desire and once we had those ingredients, I think our hurling will always see us through.”
Sarsfields fashiong a merited 1-25 to 1-17 succcess, four weeks after losing out 1-23 to 0-17. It was instructive to see them flip their fortunes in the finale of games.
After 47 minutes against Imokilly, Sarsfields were ahead by a point but lost the remainder of the match 0-12 to 0-1, albeit while hurling into a fierce gale that blew down the pitch.
After 48 minutes against Feakle, the teams were deadlocked before the Cork side stepped on the accelerator to burn their opponents heading down the stretch and notching eight unanswered points.
Strikingly they had ripped up their starting fifteen since the setback in Cork. Ben Graham was drafted into goal, Cillian Roche introduced at centre-back, while Cathal and Colm McCarthy formed a new midfield partnership.
“We took a chance playing Cathal out around midfield. He’s primarily a back but we rejigged the team today, we freshened the whole thing up, and I think we got our reward. There were a few lads came in today and they were immense.
“Ben Graham between the sticks was very, very good and we knew that his range would give us an extra 15 yards on the opposition side and maybe turn the half-back line. That was basically why he was in there.
“The key word is ‘freshen’. We said that to the lads, ‘Over the next three weeks, we’re going to freshen the whole thing.
“We’re thrilled, delighted.”
The pay-off was in performances like Cathal McCarthy’s tally of four points from play, a figure matched by Cork forward Jack O’Connor. The galloping strides of Cian Darcy caused major issues for Feakle, and he worked well in tandem with Daniel Hogan.
Inside Aaron Myers caught fire with 1-6 from play. He spent the summer in the USA, hurling for Galway Boston for a time, before returning to start for the first time in the Cork semi-final. Yesterday his sharpness and accuracy near goal were key ingredients.
If that all represents good news, the next task facing Sarsfields is an onerous one.
When they landed in Walsh Park last year, they were dimissed by 17 points by a Ballygunner team in commanding and ruthless form.
A rematch awaits in a fortnight, Sarsfields needing to take down a team chasing four-in-a-row in Munster.
The memories of last year’s loss remain fresh in their minds.
“It’s our first time as a club we’re in a Munster final and something we’re very proud of,” says Crowley.
“You can’t have any excuses, It was a bad day (last year) but look we just didn’t perform. Now we have a chance to, at the very least, we’ve a chance now to put a performance in and show that we’re not as bad as that.
“You look at the likes of Eoin O’Sullivan and Kearney and Craig and these lads. They’ve played 17 Cork senior hurling championships in a row, next year will be their 18th please God. They’ve only played six Munster championships so this was the first time that they’ve been in a club final and it’s just reward for them as well.
“I’m delighted for them, I’m so proud of the whole group, look we’ll give it a go on Sunday week.”
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club Cork Hurling Munster Reaction Sarsfields