Kilmallock will look to become the first ever team from Limerick to win the All Ireland Club Hurling title on St Patrick’s day as they face Ballyhale Shamrocks at 2pm in Croke Park.
Ger O’Loughlin
KILMALLOCK manager Ger O’Loughlin has managed to navigate his side through a tough Limerick championship, before winning an even tougher Munster club campaign. This coming Tuesday, the men in green will be underdogs again, but that does not phase the former All Ireland winning player.
“We all lived in hope that we would get to the promised land and we are there now. Croke Park on St Patrick’s Day is the pinnacle for the club players.”
Once more the Limerick side are seen as rank outsiders but that did not stop them defeating Cratloe and Sarsfields in Munster.
“Ballyhale will be favourites, as you would expect. I want the lads to treat this like any other game. We have the right to be there too, so we need to take heart from that. Being underdogs suits us really. All we can do now is go out and stand up for each other. That is all you ask. We have some All Stars on our team too.
“We are every bit as confident as they will be. We just need to perform on the day. In my own career, I never got to a final with my club, so this is huge for me too. Hopefully St Patrick’s Day will be a day to remember,” added the Clare coach who has a full squad to pick from ahead of this historic clash.
Graeme Mulcahy
KILMALLOCK captain Graeme Mulcahy is looking forward to Croke Park on Tuesday, knowing that these days don’t come around too often in a career.
“Going into an All Ireland final, you need to view the games as 50/50. We know from looking at the teams of the ’90s here in Kilmallock that these days are not very common. We might be seen as underdogs for this one but that matters little when the ball is thrown in. We won a lot of tight games in the Munster and Limerick championships this season. We have a very focused group here, with some experience of the big day ourselves.”
With wins over Portaferry, Cratloe and Sarsfields under their belts, the Kilmallock squad is growing in strength every week, something the captain is very proud of.
“As the year has gone on, the younger lads have really grown into it. We have at least 20 lads who will be hoping to start on Tuesday. That is a huge bonus for us.”
With club finals, comes pressure from your locality, but Mulcahy knows that the support of the Kilmallock faithful is something that will only strengthen their resolve.
“To be honest, it is great here around the town. Even around the county we have been getting support from clubs in the City and the south. Limerick is firmly behind us and that is something that really drives this team on. It’s a special time and to be honest, it can’t come quickly enough,” added the Limerick star forward.
The Odds
The biggest day in the history of Kilmallock GAA is just five days away now, while for those of you who followed this column’s advice to back Ger O’Loughlin’s men to win the title at odds of 12/1 all the way back in November, a big pay day could be looming on the horizon too.
Just one minor matter still needs to be resolved, that of course being the presence of Ballyhale Shamrocks on the other side of the draw. Initially, when our recommendation was made, we did so on the basis that there wasn’t any club out there who were stronger than Kilmallock in Munster or Ulster. Playing Leinster or Connacht opposition however would be a different matter, while Ballyhale are undoubtedly the best club side in the country so far this year based on form.
The bright side in all this is that at the odds on offer from Paddy Power, covering off your stake is an option. Our initial bet was advised on each way terms, so the place part of your wager is over the line already. As for the win element, the best option would be to play roughly three times your original stake on Ballyhale outright at 2/5, thus ensuring that even the win part of your bet won’t lose money.
It’s not that Kilmallock are without hope here, but the formlines would suggest that Leinster and Galway clubs are a good bit ahead of their Munster counterparts in this competition, and that Ballyhale are a bit better than your average Leinster championship winning side. Kilmallock are at least as good as the Munster champions from the last few years, but they haven’t done anything to suggest that they’re any better. On that basis, they have five or six points to find, not two, as has been chalked up as the correct handicap.
If you do want a handicap bet this week, take Limerick minus seven for their home game against Offaly. The Faithful County appear to be going from bad to worse, failing to stay within the five point handicap against Waterford last week, despite striking seven points in a row at the start and Waterford shooting 22 wides. Both Wexford and Waterford won well at Tullamore, so on that basis, and with Limerick set to enjoy home advantage (against a side that has played less than a half a dozen competitive games under lights in their history) we’d expect another big win here. Powers go 10/11 Limerick minus seven, which could be doubled with Dublin +1 for a 10/3 special if required.
Dublin may have got hammered by Cork last week, but that was a one off bad result for them – Clare’s difficulties are ongoing now, and their All Ireland win of eighteen months ago feels like a world away at this stage.
