Avoiding physical battle will be key for in-form Daly

STEPHEN GLENNON

CLARINBRIDGE midfielder Barry Daly insists his side cannot afford to get sucked into a physical battle against Waterford and Munster champions De La Salle, if they are to emerge victorious from their eagerly anticipated All-Ireland club hurling semi-final at Semple Stadium, Thurles on Saturday.

With De La Salle having outmuscled two highly fancied sides in Sarsfields of Cork and Thurles Sarsfields of Tipperary in the Munster semi-final and final respectively, Daly believes Clarinbridge have to remain true to their expansive game and keep the sliotar moving quickly.

“I suppose, we have always had the hurlers (in Clarinbridge), but people have said in the past that it was the physical aspect of our game that might have been our weakness,” admits Daly.

“So, we have tried to play to our strengths in the championship. We think quick, fast hurling suits us, so we have been trying to get the ball in as fast as possible into our forwards and just take it from there.”However, with De La Salle boasting of a solid defensive structure, anchored by Waterford’s Kevin Moran, it will be interesting to see if they can put their game plan into practice in Thurles.

“Yeah, they seem to be very strong down the middle; they are a well-structured team,” acknowledges Daly. “They have won two Munster titles in the last three years and they have contested an All-Ireland, so we know how good they are. They are going to be a very big challenge but I am looking forward to it really.”

That should come as no surprise given Daly, himself, thrives on adversity. This was not only evident in his performances in the ‘Bridge’s glorious 2010 county championship run, but also in his endeavours with the NUI Galway team, which claimed a first Fitzgibbon Cup title in 30 years last spring. In many respects, that Fitzgibbon victory was the making of the Clarinbridge man.

“It was a great boost,” he says. “Just to be playing with all those inter-county players, like Seamus Hennessy (Tipperary) and Domhnaill O’Donovan (Clare). John Lee (Galway) was also there. So, it was great to be playing with those lads, and there was a great bond among us. It was actually like a club team, and everybody just gave it their all. It was excellent to win it and we did kind of surprise a lot of teams along the way . . . but it was great.

“It also helped to improve my game. You find yourself trying harder – you try to match their (county players) skill levels – and you just keeping working as hard as them. They put in serious effort, so you see what it takes to get to their level and just what you have to do yourself.”

For more, read this week's Connacht Tribune.