All Ireland Club Hurling Championship

[Seamroga in exile]

Hope so MR2, id take a real cracking game and after that, if they take there chances you never know.           Ken Hogan? would he of been playing for ryans in 83? or am i thinking of someone else?

It's the Ken Hogan of Tipperary fame. He was in goals when Tipp trounced Antrim in '89 all Ireland final. Great keeper.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Hogan

[acton1]

Having followed this year's championship closely I think that Loughgiel are slight favourites. Coolderry may have made a big step in belief by beating Birr but Loughgiel are a more experienced outfit. Antrim club hurling is a lot stronger than the county performances would suggest -  this is down to the bitter rivalry between the leading clubs, and the city vs country antagonism, which makes it difficult for them to play together for the county. 

The whole of Offaly will be shouting for Coolderry but not all of Antrim will be behind Loughgiel. Many people in Cushendall and especially Dunloy would prefer to see them lose.  BTW I am told that Antrim club hurling is very much on the up with traditional giants Ballycastle and Rossa on the way back, along with St Johns and St Galls, all ready to challenge Loughgiel, Dunloy and Cushendall.

I also find it interesting that neither club was considered worth a mention at the start of this thread which is strange given that the Antrim champs are a shoe-in for the semi-finals .   

[johnneycool]

Bookies are making Coolderry the 2.5 point favourites - Loughgiel favourites on the bookies going +3, Coolderry favourites on the ones going +2. I think that's a little kind to Coolderry myself, I'd say 1.5 would be nearer the mark, maybe 2 at a push.

The only thing I will say is that Coolderry for the last five years have always had great hurlers, but never really had the self belief - they are a completely different outfit since beating Birr, it has absolutely transformed them They're hurling with real confidence now and it just shows the psychological hold that their "town" neighbours had over them.

But anyone trying to say that Coolderry are "big" favourites is clearly on a PR campaign. No logical punter or bookie would see it that way. Both sides were comfortably the better team in their All Ireland semi final matches and neither side is coming in with an advantage in experience. I'm not sure I buy into the logic that Croke Park will necessarily suit Coolderry either. Like any club sides, Coolderry have their share of young forwards who like space (Ryan, Parlon) but they also have plenty of hardy hurlers who would prefer to do their hurling at close range as well. Croke Park suits good hurling, and these are two good teams who'll be happy to play there.

Two teams in their first final, it may be the one who settles quickest could unnerve the other.

The hype around Loughguile village at the minute is unreal and that in itself puts added pressure on the team. Its possibly the same in Coolderry, don't know.

I think the big pitch will suit both sets of forwards but possibly Loughguiles defence would be quicker man for man. Their fitness in extra time was impressive.
I watched Joe Brady in the semi-final and he cleared some amount of ball and was of the opinion that if Loughguile were able to get good ball out of defence away from him it'd nulify his effect on the game, but I'm told the Coolderry forwards don't give defenders a minutes peace to get their heads up and hence the cleareances aren't the best.

Nullify Brady and they're in with a good shout, let him dictate the game and it could be a long afternoon for their defenders!

It's going to be high scoring and whoever gets goals will win it.

[Milltown Row2]

I'm not going to back a winner in the is game, I'm going for a high scoring game. Over so many points. Paddy Power don't have that bet up yet but will have no doubt closer to the day.

Should be a cracking game. I won't be at it, as my Paddy's day (bar our own involvement) is spent at the club, pints, food (usually stew) more pints, then the games. I believe Ireland play England at 5!!! Bed for 7 no doubt!!

[Last Man]

I'm not going to back a winner in the is game, I'm going for a high scoring game. Over so many points. Paddy Power don't have that bet up yet but will have no doubt closer to the day.

Should be a cracking game. I won't be at it, as my Paddy's day (bar our own involvement) is spent at the club, pints, food (usually stew) more pints, then the games. I believe Ireland play England at 5!!! Bed for 7 no doubt!!

Surprised your not travelling Milltown. Looks like a big crowd going down as the 10.00am train is sold out, we're having to take the 8.00am which might mean I'll be squinting at the game through one eye ffs.

[Milltown Row2]

I'm not going to back a winner in the is game, I'm going for a high scoring game. Over so many points. Paddy Power don't have that bet up yet but will have no doubt closer to the day.

Should be a cracking game. I won't be at it, as my Paddy's day (bar our own involvement) is spent at the club, pints, food (usually stew) more pints, then the games. I believe Ireland play England at 5!!! Bed for 7 no doubt!!

Surprised your not travelling Milltown. Looks like a big crowd going down as the 10.00am train is sold out, we're having to take the 8.00am which might mean I'll be squinting at the game through one eye ffs.

Aye, I never miss the semi Final Last Man but the craic at the club on St Paddy's day is mighty. Well be cheering them on at the club. Hope you have a goodin. Stay of the beer till Croke, you'll be fine

[acton1]

See article on Ulster Hurling

Watson stands his ground

Loughgiel's sharp shooter says he is a reformed man ahead of the club final
Christy O'Connor Published: 11 March 2012
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Liam Watson lines his hurleys up against the wall, each one delicately garnished with red and white coloured grips. The handles are thicker and the bas bigger than normal but Michael and Denis Scullion know Watson's exact requirements. On Wednesday, Watson followed his usual ritual the week before a big game by picking up three new sticks from Scullion's workshop opposite Loughgiel's pitch. The clean ash was all that differentiated them from Watson's mini-forest of timber, each stick as primed as the next. Perfect.

Watson gathers the new hurleys and makes his way down Lough road, entering Fr Healy Park through the little back-gate. He crosses the gravel track and jumps the three-foot wall before emptying a batch of sliotars on the pitch. The quality of ash is soon authenticated by the smooth cracking sound from the sliotars pinging off his hurley as Watson goes through his free-taking routine. His striking is almost flawless. Perfect.

Watson has been in the zone for a while. In the All-Ireland semi-final against Na Piarsaigh, he bagged 0-16. Watson's sublime striking on a wet day illustrated his talent but that performance was fermenting for 12 months before he uncorked it. "I was useless in last year's semi-final against O'Loughlin Gaels," he says. "I wanted to go back to Parnell Park to prove a point. I knew that whoever I was marking against Na Piarsaigh was going to be in for some treatment."

Big scoring returns have been a constant throughout Watson's career; he scored 0-13 out of 0-16 in the 2007 county final defeat to Dunloy. His talent was never in doubt. His attitude and mentality always was. He has carried the tabloid caricature of a maverick and his indiscipline has consistently rhymed with that reputation. Hurling often operates on the dynamics of a village and one bad word often borrows another. Yet most of Watson's indiscretions were so public that he had no defence against the gossip which accompanied them.

"I'm the type of man who does what he wants to do," he says. "Some people can take that, some people can't. I would never look back with regrets but I will admit that I have done piles of things wrong. I'm far from perfect but God gives everyone a talent and the main one I was given was hurling. Once you're given it, you have to try not to waste it. I wasted it for a couple of years but I'm trying hard to redeem that now."

He first showed that renegade streak as a 19-year old in Antrim's 2002 All-Ireland quarter-final against Tipperary when he struck Paul Ormonde on the side of the head with the butt of his hurley. A yellow card was later upgraded to a red and red cards became a recurring theme throughout his career. He was sent off against Derry in 2008 while he was also red-carded twice in the 2010 season, including the All-Ireland quarter-final against Cork when he was marched after scoring six excellent points from play.

It also blighted him at club level. Watson was the pulse of Loughgiel's scoring power but he was also their jugular vein and teams often went for the jugular. "I have been targeted but I was letting my family and my teammates down for years," he says. "I got sent off in a championship game against St John's one year. I came home afterwards and Eoin (his seven-year-old son) had this wee stick. He jagged it into the side of me and goes, 'You shouldn't have done it'. He's very close to me and I had to cop on. I've nearly been sent off more times than I've got up in the morning so you have to catch on some time."

His indiscipline on the field though, was too often a reflection of it off the field. One year he missed a club championship game when he disappeared on a lost weekend at the motorcycle world championships in Toomebridge. He didn't play with Antrim in 2007 and 2009, while he was dropped from the squad the night before they played Galway in the 2008 qualifiers for playing a low-key soccer tournament in Limavady two nights previously. Joint-managers, Terrence 'Sambo' McNaughton and Dominic 'Woody' McKinley, were building a new team and Watson's reputation conflicted with their standards and ideals. It wasn't just them. Watson breached a drinking ban imposed by Dinny Cahill before the 2010 Leinster championship against Offaly by going to a close friend's stag in Liverpool. He was also involved in a fight in training with a fellow player. He was dropped from the panel before being restored and not all of Cahill's management team were happy to see him come on against Offaly.

Yet he became an All-Star nominee and there has always been a conflict between his immense talent and the perception of him as a liability. "If I went in to a bar today and drank two pints, the word in Cushendall would be that I was drunk off my head," he says. "I like getting out, having a drink and enjoying myself. If people think I'm an alcoholic or drinking as much as I'm supposed to be, I'd hardly have scored 0-16 against Na Piarsaigh. Everyone is entitled to their opinions but I'll have my opinion after March 17."

In such a passionate hurling heartland, opinions have often been easier to form with Watson's soccer commitments. He spent three seasons in the IFA Premiership with Donegal Celtic, where he was popular with the supporters, before signing for Ballymena United last August. "The supporters were crazy, I was as crazy as them, we enjoyed our football and we had a drink afterwards," he says. "That's what life is all about: enjoyment. This guy said to me one day, 'Are you a hurling or soccer man? I said, 'If a bill comes in my front door, will you pay it if I only play hurling? The soccer was giving me a few pounds to pay bills but I've always been mad into all sports."

Watson wasn't immune from controversy either on the soccer field; he was sent off after 15 seconds against Coleraine in 2010, while he was suspended by Ballymena last November for an alleged breach of discipline. It doesn't provide him with a defence but Watson has been troubled at times.

"I'm my biggest critic and I'm always beating myself up," he says. "There are always people trying to knock you and there would be times when I wouldn't want to come out of the house, win or lose. If I came out, I could end up hitting somebody. Everyone has good and bad days. I'm usually upbeat and cheery but there were times when I might have been in bad form and I just didn't want to go to the field. Maybe I was suffering a bit from depression. I wouldn't say yes or no but there were times when I was very down."

Jim Nelson and Joe McGurk are two outsiders in Loughgiel's backroom team and their input has helped Watson reform. "Joe is a teacher but I call him my counsellor," says Watson. "Sometimes he might be able to tell that I'm not in great form. If I'm not happy with something, I feel I can speak to someone. Joe keeps me right."

They have all benefited from management's guidance. Loughgiel lost six county finals in a row from 2003 before cracking it in 2010. Nelson had built his reputation on bringing organisation and structure and his methods created the conditions to move forward. He got them working harder, removing the individualism which had often blighted their play.

The calmness they showed in extra-time was also mirrored by Watson's composure. Na Piarsaigh tried to twist his tail but he didn't take the bait. He sees the bigger picture now reflected in his son's excitement. Last week, Eoin got a new Loughgiel fleece with his father's picture and name on the back.

"I want to make my family and Loughgiel people proud," says Watson. "I feel at the top of my game at the minute. Everything is going well for me on and off the field. All I can promise is that I'll give 100% work rate. I can't say that I will reproduce what I showed against Na Piarsaigh but I love the big challenge, the hype, the atmosphere. The big stage is definitely for me."

The stage is set. And Watson finally looks primed for it.

[Oraisteach]

Good luck, Loughgiel.

[doodaa]

Is it just my tv or is anyone else finding tg4's coverage very blurry? (No, i havent been drinking!)

[haranguerer]

This is brilliant from Loughgiel!!

[All of a Sludden]

cracking game. Watson having a stormer. 0-9 to 4-6 at half time. Hope they do it.

[Oraisteach]

Holy Hurls.  4-6  to 0-9 Loughgiel. HT

[Square Ball]

fantastic, hope they dont go defensive

[Maguire01]

That was a great first half. Watson is immense.

[Oraisteach]

Spectacular win for Loughgiel! 4-13 to 0-17