Crestfallen Martin says the future’s bright for valiant Glen

GLEN ROVERS selector Liam Martin has vowed his side will “rise again” after the heartbreak of yesterday’s Cork SHC final defeat to Sarsfields.

Martin, who captained the club in their 1991 decider loss to Midleton, stood outside the dressing room door in the aftermath, urging his players to keep their chins up.

“The effort they put in was huge,” he said. “We knew that they’d perform on the day and there’s a hope there for the future for us. We’ll go back, we’ll lick our wounds and we’ll come again.

“We’ll take a lot of positives from the year and we’ll rise again.”

For long periods of the second half the Glen looked likely winners, before they were overtaken with the end in sight.

“We were in the game right up until the very end,” Martin agreed. “A couple of crucial frees and things went against us. It was such a tight game that there was always going to be only a point or two in it at the end. It took us time to get settled, but once we did we came into the game well and I thought we took the initiative in the second half.

“We just couldn’t see it home. We might have been beaten but our pride is intact and we’ll rise again.”

With it being the Glen’s first final in 19 years compared to Sars’ third in a row, there was a fear that the city side could have been overawed by the occasion, but that was never a factor, according to the selector.

“I don’t think so, I just think the momentum went against us in the last couple of minutes,” he said.

“Maybe the tiredness from playing so many games in a short space caught up with us eventually. I think our passion and hunger probably drove us on in the second half. But Sars have experience as well, there’s no doubt about that.”