Bray People

‘A win would be massive’

O’Sullivan wary of Rocks threat

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AVONDALE manage Emmet O’Sullivan is expecting a tough battle come Sunday afternoon when he sends his hurlers out on to the field in Joule Park Aughrim to take on the Arklow rocks in the IHC decider at 1pm.

‘We’re there on merit to be fair. We’ve moved well all year. The Rocks are going to throw up a different hurdle to us. We bet Carnew’s second team in the semi-final, they’re after getting a bit of a going over, their best players were taken. This is the Rocks first team, they’ve been in a couple of finals over the last few years, they’re no strangers to them. There’s a good tradition in the Rocks club, we’ll just have to be focused, and on our game, and be ready for what’s thrown at us and that’s it.

‘We struggled for long periods of that game, the Rocks were well in that game into the second half before we pulled away. I was up at the semi-final with the Rocks (and Kilcoole), they bring a teak tough exterior, they’ve a very good half-forward line, and they’re a well-balanced side. Kilcoole would have had their eyes on the prize and they have dispatched them. It’s a fairly good line of form to come into a final with,’ he said.

Would Avondale have preferred a tighter semi-final rather than a fairly straightfo­rward victory against his home club.

‘If someone told you at the start of the year that you were going to get Carnew in the semi-final you’d imagine it was going to be tough enough. As it turned out we just played very well. We’ll just have to get to that level again. You can say that obviously a tighter semi-final, that everyone would like a tighter semi-final, except when you’re playing it. They’re all right when you come out on the right side of them.

‘I was happy with the way we performed (against Carnew). Carnew are a good yardstick in championsh­ip at any stage. Our forwards clicked, and they done their job, what you want your forwards to do. We were solid in our main lines, our half-back line and full-forward line, and that’s what got us through,’ he added.

Avondale making the decision to drop down last season was a huge decision says Emmet O’Sullivan. It was a move that had its objectors and while O’Sullivan could see their point, he feels that, ultimately, the move was a wise one and the rewards are now being realised.

‘It was a massive decision at the time. It probably split the club a little bit with some die-hard club members and you could see their point. It doesn’t always augur well for a club to drop down. But, having said that, we brought through five or six young lads that probably would have been slightly out of their depth this year. For the last two years we’ve been putting up a battle for 30 or 35 minutes in games (at Senior) and that could have been happened to those lads and you wouldn’t have them. Those young lads have come on immensely so as it stands, I think it was a good decision...as long as you win next Sunday!

‘Everything has snowballed here in regards training and commitment, everything has taken a step up. In fairness, we topped our Spring League, Intermedia­te and Junior, we got to a Leinster League final (in Wexford Park), we hadn’t got Eamonn (Kearns) and Eugene (Dunne) for that and we got beaten in it which was unfortunat­e. We topped our group in the championsh­ip. It’s been all through to be fair.

‘Those young lads have been a massive boost. You were dealing with 16 and 17 at training and they’ve boosted you to 22 and 23. It’s made a massive difference and they’re pushing lads on for places,’ he added.

Match report after match report this season has highlighte­d the genius of Ray ‘Fiddler’ Nolan. What’s his manager’s take on him?

‘He’s having a great year. What do you say about him? He’s just a naturally gifted player, always has been and always will be. I’ve known him from early days, he was always at another level. He’s just outstandin­g, a great leader in and around the lads as well. He knows how to do it on the field and in the dressing room. He has that aura about him. He brings lads behind him. I’ve been in dressing rooms where you have lads who shout and roar in the dressing room but don’t lift the lads on the field. He says a few words in the dressing room but he goes out and he sticks the ball in the net or over the bar and that’s what matters. He does it so well. He’s probably one of the most stylish hurlers you’ll ever see.

Another man that has boosted the Avondale ranks is county Minor and Annacurra footballer Gearoid Murphy who has strong links with the Avondale club.

‘He’s a super talent,’ says Emmet. ‘He’s one of those lads that you didn’t expect to have at the start of the year and you’re just delighted that he has arrived. He’s a little but special now.

‘He’s a county hurler for the next 15 years if he wants to be. He’s very good. He has a great touch, it’s almost like he slides past players, you think a lad has him lined up and then he slides out past him,’ he added.

And so, to the Rocks. A team very much like Avondale. They faced the hard truth a few years ago and made the drop down from Senior. But things are moving in the right direction in the Arklow club. How will Avondale plot a course past them back to Senior ranks.

‘They’re well-balanced. You’d be looking to grind them down all over the field. Our forward line in the semi-final done the business. I’m sure the Rocks are sitting there looking at that and pointing out where they can stop it. Our forward line done very well but the ball was coming out of the backs and I’m sure the Rocks will be trying to stop that. They’ve a very strong half-forward line, we’ll have to be on our game in our half-back line to stop them,’ he said.

Victory on Sunday, what would it mean to the club and Emmet O’Sullivan.

‘I think it will be massive for the club. It’s not about me to be honest. As far as I’m concerned when I came here Avondale were a Senior hurling club and that’s where I’d like to put them back. It would be massive for the club.

‘There’s an awful lot of work going on here. They’re in an under-17 ‘A’ final, they’re joined with the Rocks for that, which is kind of funny. You’re in a catchment area where rugby and soccer are very strong as well. They are die-hard hurling people here and it would be good to repay them with a trophy,’ he added.

 ??  ?? Avondale manager Emmet O’Sullivan.
Avondale manager Emmet O’Sullivan.

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