Bernie wary of northern threat

THE machines were silent in the O’Connor Hurley Manufacturing Plant in Newtownshandrum yesterday morning, after the club’s exciting Munster club hurling win in Thurles on Sunday, the saws, planers, sanding machines lying idle, but the planning goes on.

Team celebrations had shifted for the day from the village to the local town, Charleville, an invite to breakfast at Gough’s renowned hostelry gratefully taken up by the players, en masse; back at base, however, team manager Bernie O’Connor was already looking ahead to the next obstacle in the challenge for All-Ireland honours. Clearly, it’s a prospect that has him worried. The whole hurling world seems to have assumed that beating Ballygalget, the Down and Ulster champions, will only be a matter of form; absolutely not, says Bernie.

“Being honest, we’d have to fancy ourselves to win that game, if we get ourselves absolutely right, but the boys (his sons, Ben and Jerry) told me, when Cork played Down in the League, it took them three-quarters of the game to get on top, that Down were a good hurling side. Well, 11 of the Ballygalget team have played for Down. You CAN’T underestimate them, they’re a right good club side. Wouldn’t we feel right stupid if we went up there and lost, simply because we hadn’t taken them seriously? Now we might still be beaten, and if they’re good enough to do that, well, fair dues to them. But to lose because you haven’t shown a team the respect they deserve, that would be disastrous.”