Kearney hoping Gaels run out of legs

SLAUGTNEIL assistant manager John Joe Kearney believes that last weekend’s replayed win over Derrygonnelly could come back to haunt Cavan Gaels. The Derry champions are the fresher team going into Sunday’s final, with the Gaels having played two games and a period of extra-time inside seven days to reach their first provincial decider in 40 years. Few clubs are better versed on the physical demands of winter championship than Slaughtneil, who are bidding to make history by becoming the first club to win the provincial double in both codes. And while they may appear to have made light work of it, Kearney believes that playing high intensity games week-on-week can be a draining experience and it is something that Cavan Gaels may be about to discover. ‘It will have an effect on legs because every game at this level is played with great intensity,’ insists Kearney. Cavan Gaels’ exhausting route to the final is just one of the reasons why Slaughtneil are the unbackable 1/5 favourites to clinch a third Ulster title in four years. But those odds are making Kearney, team manager Mickey Moran’s (pictured) right hand man, a little uneasy. ‘We will be favourites and that is always dangerous. ‘Human nature being what it is, that’s when complacency sets in and that’s when you could be caught. ‘But I think the group of players we have won’t let that happen. They are fairly tuned in to what we are about and will play with all the passion they generally show.’ They are in fact seeking to complete an astonishing double treble, with the club’s camogie side — who are the reigning All-Ireland champions — having already defended their Ulster crown. ‘It is an opportunity to do the double treble of hurling, camogie and football back-to- back but we haven’t done it yet and after what I’ve seen from Cavan Gaels in the last two weeks, they don’t lie down. ‘That will give them lots of confidence, but I would think our players are not thinking about doubles or trebles.’