Nothing but victory will satisfy Sligo ace O'Hara
Ten years ago, he would have been the coveted talent glimpsed just once or twice during the summer months.
Changed times in the GAA ensure O’Hara enjoys a profile more befitting his ability. When he leads Sligo out onto the sacred sod tomorrow, it will be his and his team’s third championship game there in 12 months. Not a bad record for a county out of the Croke Park loop for 26 years. O’Hara represents a new breed of Sligo footballer, confidence augmented with quality. His Connacht final performance, when many around him were found wanting, verged on man of the match. As one Sligo official said after the game, if only the rest of the team put in O’Hara’s effort. This week, O’Hara can be found coaching the Sligo youngsters to whom he has become that rarest of Sligo species, a Gaelic footballing hero.
But O’Hara knows the challenge that lies ahead. After the Connacht final, the Sligo skipper talked of that game being the same old story for Sligo footballers. And although, they go in tomorrow as underdogs with, as many people believe, little to lose, O’Hara doesn’t see it that way.
“People are saying we have nothing to lose, but I think we have a lot to lose. Having trained all year and having nothing to show for it, that’s what we have to lose. It is annoying that we have nothing tangible to show for our development under Peter Ford. We need to have the right attitude on Sunday, then we can make a real go of it.”
He’s realistic, however. Odds on Tyrone winning their first All-Ireland have shortened since their impressive victory over Derry, and they already have a league title in the bag. Sligo brought some fairy tale to the new system last summer, with their Croker win over Kildare, but this time, it is a much tougher assignment.
“There will be a lot of people out there who won’t give us a chance. But, that doesn’t really matter. If we approach the game the same way we did against Kildare last year, we have a real chance. It was great, beating Kildare in Croke Park last year, but at the end of the day, it was nothing but a moral victory, because we had nothing to show for the year.” Last summer dampened out as a squib, conceding two goals inside the first three minutes in the second half against Dublin brought their championship crashing to earth. Still, they have shown enough in recent times to frighten any of the big sides. Whenever, O’Hara looks back on this summer, he will be unable to rid himself of the thought that the Connacht title was left behind. “Days like that don’t come around too often for Sligo, and we should have given a better account of ourselves on the day. We left the match behind us, because we didn’t have enough players giving it their all. We can’t rely on a few individuals to carry the team through.”
Which is what O’Hara doesn’t want to be doing again come Sunday. He has carried Sligo through many days, but an atmosphere in Croker might change things. It has the habit of making heroes of men, like Dessie Sloyane last year. And the smoke signals from Sligo are encouraging. They will still be the longest shots of the day, but form suggests the team are playing well. Reports from people in attendance indicate Sligo looked a much improved side when they beat Donegal by two points in a heated challenge game last week. Although, the match took place only a few days after the Ulster final, Sligo were reportedly irresitable in attack in the first half, scoring 1-10 by half-time. O’Hara himself only played the first 35 minutes, wrecking havoc at centre forward.
He will be back in midfield tomorrow. Centre stage for the afternoon that will define the season of both Sligo and Tyrone. Croke Park promises to attract thousands for this double-header, and the Yeats County can probably count on the Donegal crowd for support. But it will amount to nothing if Sligo don’t emerge with the victory. That’s what Eamon O’Hara is aiming for. He has had enough plaudits. Now it’s time to win.
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