Ken Hogan was extolling the talents of Loughgiel on Saturday when news came through the Antrim side had been taken to extra-time in their All-Ireland Club semi-final with Na Piarsaigh.
"Scratch that," said Hogan, who hurried off to talk to his Coolderry players.
Loughgiel eventually came through so we’ll take his praise for them in good faith, but we’ll come back to that.
It was understandable that Hogan was in a hurry back to the Offaly side’s dressing-room. There were a few plaudits to hand out. Coolderry put away Gort with the calm assurance of a master surgeon, taking decisive action when needed. They scored three goals to Gort’s none, and that was the statistic which prompted Gort boss Mattie Murphy to admit he had no complaints about the result.
"We struggled in the first 10 minutes and in the middle part of the second-half.," said Hogan. "But, thankfully, we got over the line – we worked as hard as we could. We got a few breaks, Gort had a few chances of goals in the first-half, but we got the breaks that put a bit of daylight between us and them."
Hogan was being generous. The switch of Cathal Parlon to full-forward from the throw-in gave Coolderry focus in attack from the start, while Gort’s inability to bypass the dominant Joe Brady at centre-back meant the Offalymen had a good platform on which to build.
They were already nudging ahead when Eoin Ryan got the first goal, on 23 minutes, and though Gort only trailed by four at the break (1-10 to 0-9), Parlon’s goal from close range early in the second-half took a good deal of the sting out of the contest.
True, Gort rallied thanks to Gerry Quinn’s accuracy from frees – Mattie Murphy noted a touch of Kilkenny in Coolderry conceding frees rather than granting opponents a run through on goal – but the third goal, finished by Damien Murray after some measured build-up play, removed any suspense. Coolderry combined well and didn’t give away much possession. They also created a lot of room up front for speedsters like Eoin Ryan, which augurs well for their chances in the spaces of Croke Park on St. Patrick’s Day. Unsurprisingly for a manager likely to see his side installed as favourites for the club final, Hogan pointed to Gort’s resurgence in the second-half. He also linked Cooolderry’s response to their style of play.
"You’re always concerned in a game situation – Gort are a top class side and brought it down to four points – and had a chance to bring it down to three. Thankfully we reasserted ourselves and kept our composureunder pressure. Hurling is a spectacular sport but there are days you just have to stay with it. You have to keep the faith and keep believing in what you profess. Composure, concentration – we kept those and got there."
The former Tipp star was right: Coolderry’s calmness was notable,particularly when Gort came at them in the second-half. They didn’t panic when the Galwaymen ate into their lead but kept working for each other and were duly rewarded with the win.
His opposite number couldn’t hide his disappointment.
"We can have no complaints," said Murphy. "The better team won. We thought we had prepared very well, which we probably had, but goals win matches, we conceded three and scored none, that’s the bottom line.
"I think if we had got one of them (goal chances) we probably would have driven on but we probably used up a large slice of our luck to get there today. But you’d have to accept that the better team won on the day."
For the record, Hogan’s thoughts on Loughgiel? "They were 10/1 at the start of the championship but, in the paper today, they were back to 2/1. There’s a huge tradition to Antrim hurling and they’re the only club with an All-Ireland Club championship – they won it after a replay with an Offaly team. Damien Martin was on that team and he reminded me of that a few weeks ago. They (St Rynagh’s) drew with Loughgiel in Croke Park and after that they were thinking, ‘oh we have our second chance’ – but no, Loughgiel won. So they were theonly team in the last four with that pedigree of All-Ireland champions. We know that a lot of people, hurling people in particular, would have quietly fancied them. Na Piarsaigh would be heavily reliant on their U21 team and the bit of experience would have helped Loughgiel – they were in the All-Ireland club semi-final last year and now they’re in the final."
After the Leinster Club final, Hogan deflected talk of St Patrick’s Day by referring to the U21 tournament held in his club, Lorrha on that day. It wasn’t far from his thoughts yesterday either ("We have a draw for a car that night, we’re trying to keep the club afloat, so if ye see any tickets, it’s only €20 and you can win a Volkswagen Polo,") but now it looks like he has a different appointment to ink into his diary.
Loughgiel will provide plenty of romance on March 17th, but Coolderry look ready to inject some realism into the proceedings.
Scorers for Coolderry: D Murray 1-8 (0-5f), C Parlon 1-2, E Ryan 1-0, B Carroll, B Teehan 0-2 each, K Teehan, M Corcoran 0-1 each.
Scorers for Gort: G Quinn 0-10 (7f, 2 ‘65’), G O’Donoghue 0-2, A Harte, O Fahy, R Cummins, B Regan, J Grealish 0-1 each.
COOLDERRY: S Corcoran; B Kelly, T Corcoran, A Corcoran; D King, J Brady, B O’Meara; K Teehan, K Brady; B Carroll, B Teehan, M Corcoran; E Ryan, C Parlon, D Murray.
Sub: K Connolly for K Teehan (46).
GORT: P Cummins; A Coen, M McMahon, M Cummins; J Grealish, B Regan, S Og Linnane; G Lally, S Forde; G Quinn, P Killilea, A Harte; R Cummins, O Fahy, G O’Donoghue.
Subs: T Linnane for McMahon, (29); K Killilea for Forde (31); M Mullins for Regan (44); M Nestor for Harte (59).
Referee: J Sexton (Cork).
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
This appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Monday, February 13, 2012
