A big chance for Gort to step up to another level

Date Published: {J}

STEPHEN GLENNON

ALTHOUGH Galway clubs have won ten of the last 20 All-Ireland senior club hurling titles, Gort manager Mattie Murphy has insisted there is no pressure on his charges to continue this trend heading into Saturday’s semi-final against Offaly and Leinster champions, Coolderry at the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick (2pm). That said, they would like to.

In all, six Galway clubs have won 11 All-Ireland titles between them, namely Castlegar, Kiltormer, Sarsfields (2), Athenry (3), Portumna (3) and Clarinbridge. That record alone puts a certain onus on a durable Gort team who surprisingly floored the All-Ireland champions in last November’s county final.

“Some bookmakers have us as outsiders going into the match but I mean if Clarinbridge had beaten us in the county final, they would be odds on [favourites] to win this,” said Murphy. “I know we haven’t the experience at this stage, but we won the county championship on merit and we are there on merit. And if we can reproduce our county final performance, we will be there or thereabouts.”

Indeed, Gort’s 0-17 to 1-12 county final win over Clarinbridge was well deserved, ending a senior title drought extending back to 1983 when Murphy and team selector John Commins were members of the team.

The prep work has been done for Saturday’s game, including a string of challenge games against the likes of Galway, Clare, Dublin, UCC, GMIT, NUI Galway and Cork IT. “I am happy enough [with the preparations], but you never know,” said, arguably, Galway’s most successful manager.

“I mean, it is a good while since our last [competitive] game but everybody is going in this weekend on a level playing field because they have several months of a break anyway. Even Coolderry, although they had a Leinster campaign, also had a long break.”

That break has suited Gort and, in particular, their full-back Mark McMahon, who has come through surgery on the knee to be fit and available for Saturday’s contest. Bar a few bumps and bruises, Murphy expected to have the full compliment to pick from this weekend.

And he will need everyone. Offaly champs Coolderry – despite leading the county roll of honour with 29 titles – may not enjoy the profile of their county rivals and three-time All-Ireland club winners, Birr, who have 22 county crowns, but their back-to-back county title victories and last November’s successful Leinster championship run would suggest they are now the force to be reckoned with in Offaly hurling.

“They are a very capable outfit,” said Murphy, who went to see them in both the Leinster semi-final and final. “You don’t come out of Leinster without being a cut above the ordinary. We are definitely going to have a major battle on our hands.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.