‘Ambitious’ players now switch focus to Munster battle

Pat Ryan could see it coming.

There was a sharpness to his players at training, a crispness to their hurling, an insatiable hunger in the manner they approached every drill, attacked every ball.

The semi-final victory over Na Piarsaigh didn’t suggest such a final performance, didn’t point to such a blitzkrieg of Glen Rovers. Ryan kept faith. He knew, underneath the surface, a performance boiled.

Shortly before 5pm yesterday, referee Nathan Wall brought the curtain down on the most complete hour of hurling from a Sarsfields side since first they announced their arrival at the top table back in 2008.

Ryan knew it was coming.

“It was easy on the scoreboard, but our fellas were really up for it today. They drove on all day. To be honest I knew there was a big performance in us. I knew it was coming. I thought our lads were very tuned in today, very focused. They played as a team, played for each other,” said the winning manager.

Their motivation? Easy. The 2013 county final. And if for a second they thought they would stroll back to the decider, Douglas provided a harsh dose of reality when inflicting defeat in their championship opener in early June. Sars were forced down the back road. The journey steeled them.

“The attitude the lads showed out there has been like that since last January. We pride ourselves on being competitive and lads giving 100%. That is what our fellas do, they give 100%, whether it is training, league or championship. They got their rewards today. It is sad for the Glen. They are a club with a great tradition. They didn’t come down to get the beating they got.

“Our first round was scheduled for the first week in June. That was delayed by three or four weeks and we ended up having a couple of lads away. It disrupted our set-up for a while.

“We hadn’t really gone back to full training until April to give the boys a bit of a rest after a long campaign and losing the county final in 2013. It paid off. We were coming right at the end of the season. The way the championship is structured, you need to lose three games before you are gone out of the championship. It was a kind of educated gamble. We bounced back from that defeat to Douglas.

“Our players are very ambitious. They are very hungry. If you talk to Daniel Kearney, Cian McCarthy or Conor O’Sullivan, they are very ambitious people. Whether it is job life, work life, club life or inter-county life, they want to be the best and get the most out of themselves.”

Yesterday’s victory cemented their status as the dominant force on Leeside. It may have taken four county title wins to earn the respect of the Cork hurling public, but no doubts can now be raised about the desire and mentality of this group.

Why stop here, asks Ryan?

“You look at Kilkenny and how much they have won. They keep coming back year after year. There is no reason why we can’t have more than one good year. This is only our sixth county title. It is not as if we have 26 or 27 like Blackrock. This is only the sixth title we have won and with the group we have, we need to get as much out of them while we have them. We can’t stop here.”

In their three previous Munster sojourns, Sars have managed only a solitary victory — that a comprehensive win over Clonlara in 2008. Ryan is adamant they seize this latest shot at provincial glory.

“Munster Club is very competitive. We played De La Salle twice. There was no shame in losing to them. We were beaten by Thurles Sars above in Thurles. There was no shame in that. The Munster Club is a different competition altogether. It is a very high level, a very high standard. We will go away and enjoy the rest of the week and prepare diligently for it. We will have a right cut at it. We will do all we can to take Munster. The players will want to push on.”