Visit of Cashel gives Lixnaw a chance to refocus

SOMETIMES things happen that put sport in its rightful context.

One of those things was undoubtedly the untimely passing of Lixnaw chairperson Paul Wallace earlier this month. It showed us that there are more important things in life than sport, but in a way that’s sort of the glory of sport.

It matters because it doesn’t. It matters because it can make us feel pride and a sense of place and of people. In a lot of ways Paul Wallace was Lixnaw hurling club, he was the face and the point of contact for so many of us over the years.

An officer and a gentleman he would have been in his element this week as Lixnaw buzzed with anticipation ahead of the visit of Cashel to his beloved Hermitage Park on Sunday afternoon.

“He would have [been in his element] and the place outside is in unbelievable condition at the moment and Paul and all the committee and all the local volunteers have put in massive work and it’s a credit to the parish at the moment,” Lixnaw manager Fergus Fitzmaurice told The Kerryman on Monday evening.

“But the most important thing for us is to perform on Sunday and try get the win so it’s just as a group of players and a management what we’re focussing on. The club are taking care of everything else and that’s a huge relief for us and we’re just trying to focus in on ourselves and prepare as well as we can for Sunday.

“Obviously the passing of Paul has been very difficult, he’s been the life and soul of the club. It’s been tough, obviously it’s tough for us, but it’s a lot tougher for his family. We’re just trying to rally around them and do the best that we can.

“The only way and it might be a cliché, but by going out and putting in a good performance and winning on Sunday would be a good positive after what’s happened in the last couple of weeks.”

The challenge posed by Cashel King Cormacs this weekend will be formidable, even if they aren’t the reigning Tippeary intermediate champons – they lost out to Thurles Sarsfields’ second string in the final.

“They’d a very comprehensive win against Borrisokane a few weeks ago and they were playing very well and played very well against Thurles,” Fitzmaurice explains.

“They were up maybe five or six points at half-time in the final and Thurles just got a bit of a stranglehold on the game and they had the momentum and as you know yourself it’s quite difficult when the opponents get momentum to retake it and they came up short or two by a point, but they played well.

“That’s their major advantage – they’ve been playing competitive games for the last few weeks whereas our preparation has been the tragic events with Paul’s death and also with the Under 21 competition being played at this time of the year, which I would question but anyway, our preparation hasn’t been great because a high proportion of our players are Under 21s and unfortunately they came up short against Crotta.

“They are match ready, we’re trying to do everything in our power to be prepared and ready to go on Sunday at half one.”

On the injury front not much has changed of late.

“James Flaherty is obviously gone long-term, he was injured for the County Final and Michael Conway is long-term as well. He’s a bone broken in his thumb and there are two or three of the other lads then that are carrying injuries into the game so we’ll just have to make a call on them on Friday night.

“That’s the same for every panel, so we’re just trying to manage that as best as we can,” Fitzmaurice revealed.

Verdict: Cashel