Ian Lynam confident Glen Rovers can find atonement after last year’s heartbreak

It was a disappointing county final if you were a neutral, but it was a heartbreaker for the losers on the day.

Glen Rovers were full of optimism before last year’s Cork SHC decider but Sarsfields beat them by 16 points in a one-sided event. Glen selector Ian Lynam points to several factors that fed into their side’s defeat.

“It was very disappointing, we had a good year up to that, so it ended on a sour note for us What happened? We still don’t know, really, but there were probably two or three different reasons.

“The 25th anniversary (Glen Rovers’ last county-winning side was introduced to the crowd before the game) probably didn’t help, we had a lot of young fellas in their first season, we had a week run-in to the final itself, which was another issue. All of those things are gone this year. The young fellas are a year older and a year wiser, the 25th anniversary is gone and we’ve had a two-week lead-in to the game, which is ideal.”

Last year’s final didn’t survive as a contest to half-time.

“It was over after 20, 25 minutes, when a team gets a run on you like that, it can be hard to stop it — sport can be very cruel. It can’t happen again. In the Midleton game (semi-final) we gave them a great start, but we steadied the ship and the heads didn’t go down. That was a big thing after last year.”

Getting back to the final after last year’s disappointment could be regarded as an achievement in itself, but Lynam doesn’t see it like that.

“The first round game against Ballymartle; we played well for 45 minutes but got caught with two sucker punches, but the lads picked themselves up. We didn’t speak about the county final a whole pile until our first league game, and we haven’t spoken about it since. We haven’t needed to — the lads are very focused, they’re hungry, looking to atone for what happened last year.

“Getting past Newtownshandrum and Midleton — those teams would have been seen as semi-finalists at least, if not winners. They were two very satisfying performances.”

Lynam doesn’t particularly see any extra motivation in Sars providing the final opposition again this year.

“I don’t think it’s an issue, judging on the last couple of games. The hunger, the desire, they’re all there. Who we’re playing is probably irrelevant, though a lot of the lads would have liked to play Sars after what happened last year. Revenge would be the wrong word — atonement is a better word. Revenge would suggest that Sars did something wrong, which they didn’t. They were clinical in what they did. We’re just happy to get the opportunity.

“The extra week (run-in) is a huge advantage. We didn’t do a whole pile after the Midleton game — a bit of stretching on the Monday, nothing on the Thursday, and even that day some of the lads were still very sore. That extra week is a big advantage to us.”

Lynam is very familiar with Sarsfields and knows the Glen have a big task on their hands.

“It’s their fourth final in a row and they must have been in seven of the last eight. They’re the benchmark for every club team in the county. I’ve seen them 15, 20 times in championship games in the last few years, so I’d know them fairly well at this stage.

“Their teamwork is their main strength, without a shadow of a doubt, from one to 15. They brought on three subs the last time and it made no difference to how they played — they have the strongest panel in the county by a mile, and individually they have some great players.