Hickey’s inter-county return ‘a big boost’, says Cha

KILKENNY midfielder James ‘Cha’ Fitzpatrick has described experienced defender Noel Hickey’s return to intercounty hurling as ‘a big boost’ after the Dunamaggin defender played his first competitive game since the 2008 All-Ireland SHC final in Sunday’s NHL Division 1 win over Limerick.

Hickey was plagued with knee and groin injuries that forced him to sit out last year’s championship, but Fitzpatrick has welcomed his return.

“Noel is eager to get going and it’s a big boost to have him back. He’s as fit as anyone here at the moment. He’s a tough lad to mark, is as fresh as ever and I’m sure we’re going to see a lot of him in the coming year.”

Fitzpatrick himself is returning from a sojourn away from the intercounty game after playing a key role in Ballyhale Shamrocks’ recent march to All-Ireland Club glory. With Henry Shefflin given more time off after that win and Michael Fennelly sidelined with injury, Fitzpatrick and TJ Reid were the only Ballyhale representatives in Sunday’s victory. But Fitzpatrick is eager for regular games to get used to the intercounty arena once more.

“It’s good to be back in with the county stuff now, after playing at a high standard of hurling already this year with the club. We had a few hard training sessions with Kilkenny during the week and it’s nice to get back playing with all the lads again. We need to get games under our belts and get used to the faster pace of play.”

Fitzpatrick had two new midfield partners for Sunday’s game, Tullogher-Rosbercon’s Pat Hartley alongside him in the first-half and Danesfort’s Paddy Hogan in the second-half. He is familiar with both players since underage teams and is predicting the battle for places in the Kilkenny team will remain competitive this year.

“Competition is going to be a huge thing in the Kilkenny panel... and you’re never really guaranteed your place on the team. It’s a case of trying to get your form right now. But, as a team we’re just trying to build and build, to work our way up the ladder.”

Fitzpatrick admitted it was a difficult experience facing Limerick on Sunday, unsure of what to expect from their new-look side. “It was always going to be tough for us because we didn’t know much about them. They’re only a second-string team but they’d still a lot of good players out there. They’re trying out different things and those players are eager to get their place, so it was always going to be difficult for us. But it was still a good workout.

“We’re effectively out of the league, so we’re just building for the year ahead. There’s talk about the five-in-a-row in Kilkenny, but, like Brian Cody says, we’re just taking it step by step. We’ve had a few defeats in the league and I suppose we’re a bit disappointed over that. We just have to move on from that now and build for our one game left against Waterford in two weeks time.”