‘We’ll have to take every chance we get’
ROBERT HOLLINGSWORTh chuckles heartily when he’s asked what his masterplan is for Saturday. He may not have one but the general consensus from the neutral observer is that he may need one.
As Al Pacino once said; ‘in any fight, it is the guy (girl) who is willing to die who is going to win that inch’ and Hollingsworth is not doubting the commitment and desire of his side for a millisecond. And his side are 100% confident that they have the ability to best Tinahely.
“Belief and work-rate; and that’s it really. There’s no masterplan, we just have to try and work harder than them and get more scores on the board.”
“They do of course (believe in themselves). When you look over the last few years, we’ve had great battles with Tinahely.
“Last year, getting to the county final which was the first time that the club had been in the senior final - I think it was really more about the occasion but this year the girls realise it’s more about the result. They’ve put in a huge effort over the year and there’s great belief within the group.”
“We respect Tinahely and we know they’re a fantastic outfit but at the same time, we have to give ourselves a huge chance. We’re not going there for the occasion this year. This year we’re going to bring the trophy back to Wicklow Town.”
With all eyes on Tinahely, Hollingsworth is happy to bide his time and spring an upset but to do so, they cannot afford to have any player suffer an off-day.
“We’re sort of sitting in the long grass waiting to pounce because there’s huge pressure on Tinahley. They’re going for four-in-a-row, they’ve won six in the last seven years and all the talk is of Tinahely winning a Leinster championship and going on to push for an All-Ireland. That’s fine with us. If people want to think that, that’s great but we’ll be sitting back where we are and continuing to work hard and prepare well. I can’t wait.
“We’ll have to be at our best. We’ll have to take every chance that we get. We’ll probably need a bit of luck too.
“Anyone at the game last year would’ve seen Tinahely get two very lucky goals and that was a turning point in the game. Luck does come into it but we’ll definitely have to be at our best and defend well and attack hard and if we have a bit of luck on our side as well; who knows what could happen?”
Not only are they prepared mentally, Hollingsworth is also confident that they’re ready physically and their tougher run to the final has them at their peak.
“They’re in good shape. We had a really hard battle against Baltinglass which I think will stand to us well.
“This group that we have now - they know how to grind out a result when the chips are down.
“They’re getting really good at that and I fully expect that to stand to us next week because it’s going to be an absolute battle but our girls will be ready for it.”