“We probably didn’t hit the heights, like we did against Stradbally in the county final, in any two of our Munster club games.” The frank thoughts that Ballinacourty selector Neil Moore gave to WLR FM after their dreams of making a second provincial final disappeared.
They couldn’t crack Cratloe despite their best efforts to slip away. A thin line separated them throughout and that always kept the Blues in with a sniff. The green and white led by 0-6 to 0-5 at half time. Even after Conor McGrath sank his second half putt , only Courty’s fourth concession all season long, they got their noses back in front (0-9 to 1-5) on 35 minutes.
The newly crowned Clare champions outgunned them by five points to two for the remainder however. They didn’t score for an eighteen minute period. Gary Hurney did manage to level the match for an eighth occasion but again Cratloe came back for more and kicked for home. Liam Markham and Conor McGrath signed off a weekend of history making.
The 24 hour angle was overstated perhaps and a superiority in stamina level didn’t kick in for the visitors. Cratloe boss Colm Collins explained to the Irish Examiner how they dealt with the situation after defeating Doonbeg. “On Saturday night we finished the game went to the cryotherapy and then the pool. We had our meal and we all went home. We came up against Ballinacourty today and showed great fighting spirit. It was a tremendous occasion. I was never prouder of a team in my life. It was a massive display. In 48 hours, we are in a Munster final. Joe O’Connor needs to be thanked also. He is the strength and conditioning coach with the Clare hurlers. The fitness has stood to them and even though we played yesterday, I thought we finished the stronger team which is great credit to Joe. The lads don’t slack. They watch what they eat. They don’t mess around. Thankfully they have got their reward. “
As hard as it may seem right now, Courty can take heart in the manner that they devoured the county championship. They motored through the group stages and knock out rounds (scoring 15 goals) and ripped the heart out of Stradbally in the final. The material is there to build a body of work. It’s well within their grasp.
The next target to aim for is back to back county titles. This is a height that the club have only reached once in their history (1978 and 1979). The last team to achieve that feat, other than Stradbally, was Rathgormack when they doubled up in 1995 and 1996. Courty’s must hit 2014 harder.
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