Ahascragh/Fohenagh ready to atone for past heartache
WHEN predictions were being made at the outset of 2016, few would have envisaged Ballinderreen and Ahascragh/ Fohenagh meeting in the Galway Intermediate Hurling Final at Kenny Park, Athenry on Sunday (2:15pm).
Granted, there would have been some who would have thought Ahascragh/Fohenagh, having contested finals in 2012 and 2014, would have been there or thereabouts but it was the likes of Kinvara and Oranmore/Maree who would have been seen as the frontrunners for this title.
The resurgence of Ballinderreen though has made this a novel pairing. Relegated from senior in 2008, the club continued to go into decline in the intermediate grade in the aftermath of their fall from grace. On this front, their story is no different to that of the vast majority of rural clubs around the country.
Two and a half years ago though, Ballinderreen hit a wall when a defeat to Kilbeacanty brought home the realisation that the slide was not being arrested – or would it be – without somebody taking ownership of the situation. In many respects, it had to come from the players . . . and it did.
Only 23 years of age, player Robbie Lane took the proverbial bulls by the horns after the set-up and the then manager parted ways following that defeat to Kilbeacanty who, Lane admits, had just blown Ballinderreen away with their work-rate and intensity around the park.
It was not that Kilbeacanty had players any better or worse than Ballinderreen but they were maximising their resources. Ballinderreen weren’t. “I thought there was more to be gotten out of the lads than a lot of people thought,” he begins.
“We didn’t want much disruption because we had to get a result after that to stay in the championship so I decided to take it on. A friend mentioned Fergal (Healy) would be interested in doing a bit of coaching and I rang him and from there on things just began to get better.
“Everything has gone so well and there has been no back step. Getting over the quarter-final this year was the main goal because we had fallen down on that the last couple of years. Thankfully, we achieved that.”
Ballinderreen, however, had rolled the dice a bit. They returned to training later than usual, believing the players had peaked too early last year which resulted in them bowing out to this weekend’s opponents Ahascragh/Fohenagh at the quarter-final stage.
Although Ballinderreen secured victory over Kilconieron in their championship opener, the late start meant they were not quite up to speed when they met title contenders Oranmore/Maree and Ahascragh/Fohenagh in the group stages.
Defeats in those dictated they had to win one of their last two group ties against Annaghdown and Rahoon/Newcastle at the very least. They won both; following this up with a 2-13 to 0-7 win over Kilbeacanty in the quarter-final; before ambushing neighbours Kinvara in the semi-final.
“Both teams didn’t really know what to expect from each other because we hadn’t played each other in league or a challenge or anything,” continues Lane, who also lauds Mark Lane for the work he has put in behind the scenes to get them to this point in the championship in 2016.
For more, see this week’s Connacht Tribune.