Jason Flynn: Tommy Larkins have nothing to lose in county final
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JASON FLYNN believes Tommy Larkins’ run to the Galway Senior Hurling Championship final shows what can be achieved by smaller clubs after they overcame Clarinbridge in Saturday’s semi-final.
Tommy Larkins booked their place into the Galway Senior Hurling Championship final after a memorable 2-26 to 1-27 victory over Clarinbridge after extra time, continuing a remarkable championship campaign for the East Galway club.
Conor Gardiner’s goal helped Tommy Larkins take a 1-12 to 0-12 lead into the interval, but Clarinbridge responded after the restart. David Lee was fouled inside the small square and Aaron Niland made no mistake from the resulting penalty to level matters at 1-16 apiece after 44 minutes.
Tommy Larkins goalkeeper Eanna Murphy then landed a long-range effort from inside his own half to edge his side in front. It looked as though Murphy’s score would prove to be the winner, but Darragh Counihan replied to send the contest to extra-time.
Ronan Murphy’s goal in the first half of extra-time proved crucial as Tommy Larkins held on for a narrow two-point victory.
For Flynn, who has been one of their key performers throughout the campaign, reaching the county final is particularly significant given the journey Tommy Larkins have been on over the years. The Tommy Larkins sharpshooter finished with an impressive tally of 0-13 as they booked their place into the Galway SHC final for the first time since 1971.
“It's sureal to think we're in the county final. We’re small parish from East Galway and we’re credit to the small club, you can just see the pride that we had there today. Every man stood up, we got questioned that we weren’t able to win our own ball the last day. People writing us off the whole time, we took that personally” said Flynn.
“We've come back time after time, year after year. I think we've put up some big results this year. We backed it up again today.”
Niall Kelly’s charges will now face Loughrea in the Galway SHC final on Sunday November 1st at 3pm in Pearse Stadium. Tommy Larkins defeated Loughrea in round one of the Galway SHC.
“It's huge. You can see the excitement. People might think we're over-celebrating it, but it's absolutely huge for a club like ours.I think it was 1982 since we last competed in a semi-final. The hunger is there.”
The achievement carries even greater significance for Flynn, who remembers a time when Tommy Larkins were battling at intermediate level.
“Our club suffered for years down in intermediate when I was growing up,” added Flynn. “It's just unbelievable to think we are where we are.”
“We've nothing to lose. We're going to go in as underdogs again no matter who we're playing. It's a bit of belief for any small club out there. If you keep at it and keep at it, you'll get your chance. Keep going at it,” concluded Flynn.