“They’re not good for the heart some of these games” – Willie Hyland

CLOUGH/Ballacolla manager Willie Hyland was delighted to see his side get over the line against a strong Castletown-Geoghegan outfit in their Leinster quarter-final clash on Sunday.

His relief after the game was evident as he said, “They’re not good for the heart some of these games, but we found a way. The sending off in the second half did help us but I thought over the hour we were the better team.

“We kept them in the game in the second half which was disappointing on our end and we made a lot of mistakes, the game was littered with mistakes on both sides but this time of year you have to factor in the conditions as well.

“The big thing today was just to get a win, the last time we got a run in Leinster the momentum just built so we’re delighted to get over the line, they’re a very good team.

“They nearly beat Kilcormac last year so we’ve massive respect for them and they made us earn the win there today.” Clough-Ballacolla made a good start to the contest, but Hyland wasn’t pleased that they let the opposition back at them on a couple of occasions.

“We started off great, the first 15 minutes were brilliant and then we couldn’t wait for the half time whistle to come, they were three up at half time and it probably could have been more.

“We changed our system at half time and I think we got to grips with them, Willie’s goal was very important, goals in these conditions at this time of year are very important.

“It was disappointing midway through the second half as we had them on the ropes but we couldn’t give the knockout blow.” Though Willie Dunphy notched a brace of goals for the victors, Darren Maher made a similarly crucial play with an excellent flick to deny a Castletown-Geoghegan goal late in the game.

And Hyland was full of praise for Maher, “I don’t know how he got to the ball, at 37 years of age you can talk about skill, athleticism and fitness but you can’t measure heart.

“Every team we play thinks they can target Darren, and he gives it back to them in spades.

“Darren is probably in the best shape he’s ever been in and he’s had a lot of setbacks, he wasn’t on the starting 15 at the beginning of the year and he’s an example to the younger fellas that don’t see game time.” Hyland’s side were dealt a big blow just before throw-in with the loss of Jordan Walshe to injury, but the Clough-Ballacolla boss said his team have become accustomed to dealing with these challenges.

“We just gathered the lads in and said it’s been like this all year, injury after suspension among other things and it’s about showing resilience and fighting back,” he said.

Robbie (Phelan) stood in after not seeing much game time and put in a trojan effort, and I knew he wouldn’t let us down, that man has serious heart.” Despite Picky Maher’s appearance in the county final win over Camross, he didn’t play on Sunday and when asked if he’ll be available in two weeks, Hyland said, “Never say never.” He added, “It’s no secret he did his cruciate not long ago.

“It’s not alone Ballacolla that suffers, it’s his work and stuff outside of hurling that suffers so we have to be fair to him too.” Ballyhale Shamrocks now lay in wait for Hyland and his men in a fortnight and he reckons his team will have to improve if they want to continue hurling in what he said is a very enjoyable time of year, reminiscing on his own playing days in 2021 specifically.

“We’re looking forward to it, this is a massive opportunity for our lads, they want to play against the best.

“The last time we plated Ballyhale it didn’t end well for us but we haven’t even thought about it yet, we’ve just beaten Castletown and we have two weeks now.

“This time of the year it’s very enjoyable. The wins are magic and we’re through to a semi-final but look, we’re not happy with a lot of the play we had.

“Our touch was way off, our shooting, but the heart and tackling was there and we got over the line and we have massive improving to do now in two weeks.”