PATRICKSWELL take on Kilmallock in the Limerick Senior Hurling Championship Final this Sunday.
Before a ball was ever thrown in in this year’s championship, thoughts of a county final would have been far from Patrickswell’s mind as they lost a man to a red card before the whistle was even blown against Doon in their opener.
An off the ball incident saw Kevin O’Brien sent to the stands as the ‘Well lost out to Doon. They regrouped with a win over Ahane but looked dead and buried with time running out against Adare in the quarters.
But with the chips down, Patrickswell hit five on the trot late on to move into the semi-finals where they comfortably dethroned Na Piarsaigh.
Speaking on their eventful journey to the final, Mark Carmody
“When you set out for your first match, you obviously set out to win every match you’re playing. It was a disappointment, we were probably rocked by the sending off before the game even started but I thought we regrouped well after that during the game.
“Doon were just the better team on the day, end of story, we’ve no complaints about that… They kind of out played us, they went down to 14 men and they out played us for most of the second-half.
“It’s always a tough game against Adare, they’re close rivals to us as well, there’s a lot of history between Patrickswell and Adare over the years so we know it’s going to be a tough game.”
Only one more obstacle remains in the way of the Well, in the form of Kilmallock, who have had a similar journey to the final. It is the first meeting of the sides in the final and Carmody isn’t looking past the Balbec.
“We’re not looking past Kilmallock. We know how good they are, they have a few county medals and a munster title. It’s a big challenge and that’s all we’re focused on at the moment.”
And the importance of winning the Limerick club championship with the Shannonsiders going back to back in the All-Ireland championship is not lost on the Patrickswell native.
“What Limerick have produced since 2018, I suppose you don’t become All-Ireland Champions for nothing and it shows the club teams are going well.
“You want to be playing the best as much as you can in club hurling, I think we’re lucky enough in Limerick at the moment that we are seeing a really good era of club hurling and it’s showing then with Limerick at the county stage seeing what the boys produced on the biggest stage”
Listen to the interview in full with Carmody below.
The post WATCH: “We know how good they are” | Patrickswell’s Mark Carmody under no illusion of the Balbec threat appeared first on Sporting Limerick.
