St. ThomasÕ captain Murray braced for a fierce battle with Antrim men

Date Published: 07-Feb-2013

ST. Thomas’ full-back and captain Robert Murray is warning his team-mates to be conscious of the fact that they will be playing the reigning All-Ireland club champions rather than a team that comes from a county which has struggled to establish itself at the top table of inter-county hurling.

To this end, Murray is expecting a fierce battle from a Loughgiel Shamrocks outfit that will not surrender their All-Ireland crown easily. “From the matches I have seen them play – no more so than against Coolderry in last year’s All-Ireland final – they were worthy champions. They played fantastic on the day and they do have fantastic hurlers.

“I know you wouldn’t call Antrim a great stronghold [among the McCarthy Cup counties] but they have a proud tradition of hurling up there and they take it very seriously. They are an excellent team really and if we are going to turn them over, it is going to be a fierce battle. So, we are not over confident or anything like that. If we are to come out on top in this match, it is going to require fierce determination and no little luck as well.”

As for St. Thomas’, Murray says the club is really looking forward to this latest adventure, particularly as he often doubted if he would see an occasion like this occur during his playing days. “I suppose, the last couple of months have been a rollercoaster. We were so caught up in the county final win, I was glad we got back to training so quickly again,” he laughs.

“I never thought though a day like this would happen really. The big teams like Portumna, Athenry and Sarsfields – all the Galway teams going on to compete at this level – I never thought we would be there ourselves and in there with a shout as well.

“I suppose, preparations have been going fairly well – we have been training hard – but we have no scale to measure ourselves against, so we don’t know how well we should be going because we have never been here in this position before. So, there is a little bit of guesswork at the moment.”

That said, with former Antrim manager and Portumna coach Dinny Cahill involved in the St. Thomas’ backroom team, he has given them an inkling of not what only Saturday’s opposition will be like but he will also know what it takes to secure a victory at this stage of the competition.

“Yeah, Dinny is working wonders really and he tells us we are doing well and we have to believe him. He has been through it all before. So, his advice has been vital really to us and, hopefully, it will help us along the way on Saturday.”

Of course, aside from the captaincy, Murray has even more important duties to perform at Parnell Park, namely keeping tabs on a Loughgiel attack that boasts a number of superb stickmen, including Liam Watson, Eddie McCloskey and Joey Scullion.

“No matter who you are playing, you are going to come up, especially at this level, against some pretty good forwards. The main thing is to be focused on your own game and to get things right. Everybody has to focus on their job.

“You’ve mentioned three good lads there but it could be the other three forwards who do the damage the next day. So, you can’t focus too much on just a couple or so players. So, again, everyone really has to do their own job and take charge of their own patch,” concludes the St. Thomas’ captain.