Loughs look to halt Ruairí Óg’s run
BY NIALL SHERRY, SPORTS EDITOR
PREVIEW
AIB GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Club Championship – Semi-Final
O`Loughlin Gaels vs Ruairí Óg Cushendall
Sunday, Páirc Tailteann, Throw in: 1.30pm
Referee: Michael Kennedy (Tipperary)
O’Loughlin Gaels will make the journey to Navan this weekend to face-off against Ruairí Óg’s of Cushendall in the second of this year’s AIB GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Club Championship Semi-Finals. First up tomorrow will be the clash between St Thomas’s and Ballygunner at O’Moore Park Portlaoise. The Waterford club will be favourites to secure the first berth in this year’s showpiece decider and will no doubt tune in on Sunday to study their future opponents.
For Brian Hogan’s outfit, it will be a chance to qualify for their first All-Ireland club final since 2011, when the current manager and his captain were both on duty when the St John’s Park side lost out to Galway’s Clarinbridge. Interestingly, Mark Bergin was the championship’s top scorer that year and hit 5 points in their defeat at Croke Park, and no doubt, the veteran forward will hope to run-up an impressive tally on Sunday and lead his team out at the iconic Jones’s Road venue early next year.
Standing in the Kilkenny and Leinster champions way in Páirc Tailteann will be Antrim and Ulster’s finest, Ruairí Óg Cushendall. Brian Delargy’s charges won’t fear the Loughs and he knows that the pundits will all be predicting a Ballygunner vs O’Loughlin’s decider, and while some see Sunday as a ‘free hit’ for the glens men, Delargy will be confident in his sides ability to cause an upset, especially with one of Antrim’s all-time greats in his line-up, Neil McManus. The five-time Ulster and two-time Joe McDonagh Cup winner might be 35, but this proud Saffron is determined to end 2023 on a high and possesses the skill and drive to cause any team problems.
While there’s no doubting that McManus is the talisman for this Ruairí Óg’s side, the recently retired county man is certainly not a one-man band for the maroon clad men. They have one of Antrim’s rising stars in young Joe McLaughlin, the lively Ed McQuillan and a pair of McCambridge’s in Ryan and Fergus. Throw-in All-Star rated defender Paddy Burke and you can see why this Cushendall side is a formidable opponent. The 12-times Ulster club champions produced what their manger described as their best performance of the season to date when defeating old foes Slaughtneil in Newry a couple of weeks ago, and they will hope that things are peaking at exactly the right time as they look to claim a famous scalp in O’Loughlin Gaels.
Against Michael McShane’s Derry side, Ed McQuillan and Joe McLaughlin hit 7 points between them and looked a real threat throughout, while McManus notched 0-8 in the win at Pairc Esler. Their scoring power was out in force when they defeated Portaferry in the provincial semi-final. As a team ‘Dall scored 4-28, of which secondary school star McLaughlin hit 2-5 and put in a performance that belied his years. McManus had a hugely impressive 1-14 to his name and Brian Hogan will know that his players cannot afford to cough up easy free chances, as the Ruairí Óg’s can ensure they remain competitive throughout the 60-odd minutes.
Ryan McCambridge is a terrific athlete, who won’t be found wanting in the midfield battle. He came out on top in the battle against dual star, Brendan Rogers, no easy feat and his stats must be off the charts for distance covered during a game.
It will be interesting to see who top defender Paddy Burke shackles in Páirc Tailteann. Burke is known for his tremendous defensive attributes and according to his club captain and former county teammate, Neil McManus was the best player in Ulster this year. Burke did a decent job on Kilkenny’s Eoin Cody in Corrigan Park early in the season, and you could see Owen Wall being on the defender’s radar come Sunday.
It’s not just O’Loughlin’s who have experienced heartache in the All-Ireland club final, Cushendall were runners-up in the 2016 decider, losing to a rather decent Na Piarsaigh outfit by some eleven points. The Limerick side had the likes of Peter Casey, Shane Dowling and William O’Donoghue on the field that day, while Neil McManus is one of only a couple of survivors from that day in Croker.
O’Loughlin Gaels have shown that they are a serious side and deserve the silverware and plaudits earned so far this season. Some clubs may have been content with dethroning Shamrocks Ballyhale in the Kilkenny championship, but Brian Hogan’s men have shown their worth on the provincial stage also, taking care of business against two decent sides in Mount Leinster Rangers and Kilcormac-Killoughey before winning the expected battle against Dublin side Na Fianna.
Like in the county final, Paddy Deegan has been extremely prominent for his side since entering the Leinster arena. From his centre back position, Deegan has been conducting his orchestra in front of him brilliantly, getting his team on the front foot and driving forward at every opportunity, while cutting out opposition ball and sweeping up in the vein of Richie Reid, a compliment of the highest level. One thing that the county man must have really worked on is his shooting, as his accuracy, especially from distance is much improved. His tally of 5 points last day out against Niall Ó Ceallacháin’s team was a cracking tally for the schoolteacher.
While not top of the scoring charts, Owen Wall’s contribution cannot be underestimated. His searing pace, intelligent movement and non-stop running mean the corner-forward must be a horrible man to mark in the game. I could see Wall fancying his chances of keeping the scoreboard moving against Cushendall, but Paddy Burke might have other ideas about that!
In the other corner, Sean Bolger has also been putting in serious shifts this season. Bolger has an eye for a pass and can seems to enjoy bringing others into play and assisting many teammates. Paddy Butler has struggled a little in the last couple of games and to me, hasn’t looked right since taking a heavy challenge against the Offaly champions in the provincial semi-final. If the couple of weeks rest has helped the No.14, hopefully Butler can prove a real handful for the Ruairí Óg’s defence on Sunday.
How the Hebron Road outfit performs in the engine room will again be key to getting on top of the opposition in Páirc Tailteann. Cian Loy and Jack Nolan have been steady during the provincial campaign, and while both have often not finished the games, they put in a deadly shift while on the pitch, and both are more than capable of taking points. The Loughs midfield pairing know that Conor Kelly and Jamie Ryan are waiting in the wings and ready to perform when called upon.
In front of reliable netminder Stephen Murphy are a set of six players that would be the envy of many teams. We have spoken about Paddy Deegan, but the five men in the trenches with him are the foundation on which O’Loughlin’s success is firmly built on. All-Star defenders, Mikey Butler and Huw Lawlor would walk onto any team on the island and are central to Brian Hogan’s game plan. The manager has deployed these two top-level operators in their best positions, and this has really stood to the Loughs this season. Like the ‘Dall’s Paddy Burke, Mikey Butler loves a marking job, could he take Neil McManus or rising star, Joe McLaughlin? At the risk of repeating myself, Huw Lawlor is simply outstanding. I honestly don’t see a better full-back in the modern game.
Flanking Paddy Deegan are the consistently good Jordan Molloy and David Fogarty, wing backs that are not shy in defending, but love the chance to roam forward and create overloads and headaches for the opposition defence. Both can take scores, which in today’s game is invaluable, and Fogarty in particular, looks tailor made for the black and amber of his county.
I don’t think Brian Hogan will allow any complacency to creep into his side, and he will have drilled onto his players that Cushendall are a dangerous animal that must be respected but dealt with in the same way that his charges have gone about their business this season. The chance to run out at Croker again and have a fighting chance of claiming a first Tommy Moore Cup for their club will drive these boys on this Sunday and make Christmas 2023 a really special one for everyone at the St Johns Park club.
* Congratulations to Tullogher Rosbercon and Thomastown who secured both the junior and intermediate provincial titles last weekend. This double success means all three Leinster titles respectively are held on Noreside, a fantastic achievment and advertisement for club hurling in Kilkenny.
