Infusion of new blood helps Loughrea reach another final - Keary

STEPHEN GLENNON

WHEN the new championship structure was unveiled, whereby teams had to be up to speed as early as the opening round, some pundits believed that the likes of Portumna, Clarinbridge and Loughrea could suffer as in the old system the top teams were succinctly able to time their run to peak later in the year.

In the end, one of the title challengers did get caught, in Clarinbridge – now embroiled in the relegation quagmire on and off the field – and Loughrea captain Gavin Keary agrees that was always a danger. “No doubt, the new championship structure has offered different challenges but I think every club player would have welcomed those,” says Keary.

“We found you probably had to be a lot sharper at the start of the year than other years because you didn’t know who you were going to get in the draw. Other years we would keep the training to the very minimum early on and just try to look after ourselves off the pitch. This year, we knew we had to do a bit more Summer training in the Wintertime to get ready. That was the only thing we found different.“After that, you could have drawn anyone in the first round – your St. Thomas’, your Gorts or your Portumnas – but I think if you go through the first round matches this year they were all very close. So, the standard has become a lot tighter and teams have become a lot better.”

As it was, Loughrea came through a tough battle with old rivals Athenry in the first round before they brushed aside a stunned Tynagh/Abbey-Duniry in their opening group game. They subsequently took apart Athenry, 2-21 to 2-10, in their second game before playing out a 2-16 to 3-13 draw against St. Thomas’ in their final group fixture – a game that was, by and large, meaningless as both had qualified for the quarter-finals.

It was clear, though, that Loughrea were asserting themselves as genuine county title contenders once again . . . but not only that, they were a team evolving. In previous years, they had bulldozed their way to a number of victories; now, they were winning these games with no small amount of style.

“I can understand where you are coming from,” smiles Keary. “We probably have had to adjust the way we play with the type of players that have come in. The younger guys who have arrived on the scene are just different hurlers than what was there in the past – the Dermot Melias, the Greg Kennedys and Mike Kearns. These guys are gone so you just have to work with what you have got.”

In any event, there is a nice balance to the Loughrea side with the likes of Sean Sweeney, Paul Hoban, Neil Keary, Jamie Ryan and, of course, All-Star Young Hurler of the Year Johnny Coen complementing the wealth of experience permeating throughout the older players, such as captain Keary. The concoction has certainly lent itself to something different in Loughrea’s style of play.

It was this mixture of youth and experience that stood them in good stead when their backs were against the wall in the quarter-final against Mullagh, when late scores secured them a draw. “I think we really got out of jail that first day,” remarks Keary.

“When it is a local derby, you just know down through the years there is going to be nothing in it. We were lucky to get away with a draw the first day. We played very poorly and we were kind of annoyed with ourselves that we didn’t do what we set out to do. So, we tried to rectify it the next day.”

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