Good final needed to make up for a fairly average year

IT HAS been a pretty tough passage through the Pettitt’s Senior hurling championship. Few would have envisaged at the start of the campaign that it would be reliant on a quality county final to salvage what has been a desperately disappointing 2019 campaign.

This year’s championship was one of the most eagerly awaited for some seasons, with the anticipation built on the back of the breakthrough of Naomh Eanna last year in winning their first Senior crown.

Alas, this failed to materialise, with few if any quality games of hurling witnessed in setting up a much-anticipated mouth-watering county final.

It’s a long way from the first round to the final. Well, that’s the story down Rathangan way anyway since St. Anne’s have provided the fairytale story and, but for their amazing recovery, the championship would have few talking points.

A 34-point first round drubbing to their final opponents, St. Martin’s, looked to have destined the boys in blue to a relegation struggle, while on the other hand it had hurling enthusiasts installing St. Martin’s as warm favourites to lift the Dr. Bowe Cup.

Over the last few weeks the championship formbook has been turned right on its head. Through a sequence of results in the final round games, St. Anne’s managed to claim a quarter-final spot despite losing their final group contest heavily to Rapparees.

While St. Martin’s were battling their way through to the final with an impressive enough victory over Glynn-Barntown in the quarter-final, to be followed by a semi-final victory over Ferns St. Aidan’s who had dumped out holders Naomh Eanna, what was happening on the other side of the draw was now beginning to catch the imagination of the hurling public.

The quarter-final was always going to be one of those games where Shelmaliers were the bookies’ favourites to advance with ease, but astonishingly they came unstuck against a rampant St. Anne’s who held out for the narrowest of victories, the first of the real shocks.

Despite their achievement in ending the championship of a hotly-fancied Shelmaliers, the south county side was still to be left with handsome odds for their semi-final showdown with Rapparees. Fast forward and St. Anne’s created a further shock with a merited six-point victory.

The exploits of St. Anne’s have somewhat salvaged what has been a very disappointing Senior hurling championship.

Now they have set up a final with neighbours St. Martin’s, maintaining a long-standing rivalry between the two clubs, but few anticipated such a pairing.

St. Martin’s clash with St. Anne’s is, by a long, long way, the final pairing that no one expected. Indeed, many would have envisaged St. Anne’s featuring in the relegation play-off given their inconsistency through the group stages.

The fact that they have survived this far is the real talking point. Now the burning question is, can they continue their run of shock victories?

Without doubt St. Martin’s have been one of the most competitive and consistent sides in Senior hurling over recent years. No doubt they will have learned much from their final defeat to Naomh Eanna last season. Should they take that hurt into Sunday’s fina,l they will be very difficult to beat.

And while there is real experience in this St. Martin’s team when it comes to final time, they will still be taking nothing for granted, particularly in light of last year’s final defeat.

I can imagine their build-up to the final will be really intense and they will not be tempted to listen to outside forces suggesting the final will be a mere formality.

St. Anne’s record pales in comparison to that of their opponents. They must still be coming to terms with the fact that they are in a county final, just 60 minutes away from lifting the blue riband of Wexford hurling. It’s still felt they have some way to go before becoming a consistent hurling force, but their run of shock results will not be lost on their opponents.

That St. Anne’s are still in contention considering where they came from is testament to the qualities that lie within the squad.

A final is always dangerous territory, but the superior strength in depth of St. Martin’s should see them take home the Dr. Bowe Cup.