Antrim SHC – Cushendall’s Burke is optimistic

ANTRIM SENIOR HURLING CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL

DUNLOY V CUSHENDALL

Sunday, Ballycastle, 3pm

CUSHENDALL have only had a week to prepare for their county final with Dunloy.

Their drawn match against St John’s in the semi-final meant that they had to play last weekend, giving them less than a week to plan for a game against their rivals.

For Cushendall full back Paddy Burke, it is not a major issue.

“We were completely focused on St John’s. The last three times we have met there has not been much between us. There has been three draws,” Burke said.

“We were very focused on that St John’s game. Now that it is out of the way we can look to Dunloy.”

Is he frustrated that they have not had as much time to prepare for Dunloy? “It’s not frustration. I don’t think about it that way.

“If we had have won the first game we would have been training at the weekend anyway.”

Cushendall ended up winning by 3- 13 to 2-12 against St John’s last weekend.

The Ruairi Ogs had a man sent off Joe McCurry, and St John’s ran them very close again.

It was the goals from Alex Delargy and Fergus McCambridge that made the difference.

But Neil McManus’s free taking and Paddy McGill’s scoring was also crucial.

Yet Burke felt that there was more to come from the forwards.

“We maybe need to get a bit more going up front. We need to create a few more chances.

“We were able to limit their (St John’s) forwards. But we could do with more scoring.”

Their opponents Dunloy, are going to be very difficult to beat.

“We know we are going to be huge underdogs. We have not been able to beat Dunloy in the championship for the last couple of years. It is going to take a massive improvement for us to win. The performance against St John’s would not be good enough to get us over the line.”

Cushendall played Dunloy in the group stages, in what was a close, one-point game, which Dunloy won.

“We can learn a lot from that game. Dunloy are a serious side. Everyone knows we need improvement.

We need to play our best.

“We are looking forward to it. you want to play the best teams. We are looking to challenge ourselves. You want to see how you stack up against those teams.”

As they were only a point behind Dunloy in the group stages, the Cushendall lads should believe that they can close the gap.

“There will only be a point or two in it. It all comes down to what you do on the day.”

But on the day, against Dunloy, in the past few years, Cushendall have fallen short. While they won the championship last year, they didn’t beat the Cuchullains.

“We are looking forward to the challenge. We don’t shy away from that.”

The difference this year is that Cushendall have not had the same team. Arran Graffin and Conor Carson have not been available, yet the team have still been able to get good results.

“What that has done has given other players a chance to come in and get on the team,” Burke said.
“It is important, in the club, how you perform in championships. Everyone wants to see how many they can win.

“Dunloy and Cushendall have a lot of history. So it would be massive if we could win it this weekend.”

Gregory O’Kane’s Dunloy are favourites to win this clash. They have beaten
Cushendall on a number of occasions in the past couple of years, and they should have the talent to do so again this weekend.

Conal Cunning is in brilliant form at the moment, Paul Shiels has been his reliable best, while Ryan Elliott has made some crucial saves. Keelan Molloy has pace to burn and will prove very hard to stop as well. He nabbed three points against Loughgiel a fortnight ago.

Dunloy will be fresher than Cushendall and that might make the difference in what should be a great game.

VERDICT: DUNLOY