Ballygarvan seeking to atone for previous finals heartache

THE past 12 months have witnessed a remarkable overhaul for the Ballygarvan intermediate hurlers.

Last season they just staved off the threat of relegation against Delanys, but a year on they find themselves immersed in a more desirable final as they battle against Kilbrittain tomorrow for promotion to the premier intermediate ranks.

“We knew this year we weren’t as bad as the last couple of years have showed”, says Ballygarvan manager Joe Kennefick.

“We lost the first round last year by a point to Kilbrittain and this year we won our first round against Cobh by a point. That just shows what a tight difference there is. We had a few meetings over the winter about what direction the club was going and the players dictated that they wanted to do more hurling.

“We’ve done that, all our work has been with the ball in the hand, that’s helped the players and they’ve gone well all year. We lost against Éire Óg in the league in March but we haven’t been beaten since then in league or championship.”

The alterations have made a seismic effect on their performances.

“We changed things around and put guys in different positions. I remembered seeing Gary White play in a football match at midfield and he was outstanding with the freedom he had, so we did that in the hurling as well. We put Ciaran O’Sullivan to full-back and William O’Halloran went from the forwards to corner-back. Then Joe Spillane would have been our full-back but this year he’s been centre-forward or full-forward. Lads have got used to their positions and it’s all been down to the confidence they’ve gained.”

Ballygarvan’s motivation to succeed is increased by the heartache of defeat in the last two county junior football finals.

“It’s a huge motivation factor for us”, admits Kennefick. “It was bad enough to lose one but to be defeated in a second one left all the lads very down. That hangover probably carried over into the football for us this year.

“It’s a big thing for us to emerge from the hurling but we’re up against it. Kilbrittain beat us out the gate in a challenge match during the year and they were very impressive in the semi-final against Kilworth.”