Grainger: this is all part of these kids hurling education

CLOUGHDUV’S year came to an end in Pairc Uí Rinn last Sunday and while the result on the day was far from ideal it would be wrong to describe the season for the boys in green anything other than a roaring success.

On Sunday, standing on the famous old pitch listening to Bride Rovers players and fans belting out the club song Cloughduv selector John Grainger was taking the positives from the 2018 U21 adventure.

“We take great pride that our Under 21 hurlers reached the county final. At the start of the year if you told us we would be in a county final on the ninth of December we would have been thrilled. It is all a part of these young lads’ education – we have so many of these kids on the Junior panel as well with some still in or just out of minor but to get a chance to play in a county final is something that doesn’t come too often.

“We were beaten by a better team and hats off to Bride Rovers for that. They are a fine team with some fine individual hurlers but we are happy with the progress we are making. It would be far worse if we had been beaten back in the first round in May but we kept hurling until the ninth of December and that has to be a good thing.”

A tough opening first 30 that saw Cloughduv just lead by the minimum, despite playing with the wind, was one of the main factors in the final result.

“We probably would have wanted more of a lead at the break however the wind was up and down in the second half so that wasn’t that much of a factor. We were in it all the way to the last few minutes and it was only in the 60thminute that Bride Rovers pulled away – it was level for a long time so sometimes you can put too much into the wind – against it we were pucking out to the half way line so I don’t really think it had that much of an impact. It was just one or two things at the end that didn’t go our way. We had a couple of chances late on, we had a great goal chance but the keeper stopped it and Rovers went down the field and got one of two points from 50 yards out and that swung it.”

Grainger felt that they had done their research but perhaps in the fixture they will need to do a little more on that score.

“They had their homework done on us and we had ours done on them and it’s just that our homework wasn’t as good as theirs but look some of those lads (Bride Rovers) are playing senior league and we are just a junior club and they got the breaks that we didn’t get – if you look back at the video I would say you could see the areas that were the difference and the turning points but overall hats off to Bride Rovers. They are a good team. They will go up another grade next year and they are a serious hurling club still with a senior team when many people thought they would be relegated. They (Bride) produced good hurlers and they have a great interest in the game and today I would say they deserved it, fair play to them.

“Overall we are very proud of our lads. It has been a long year for them. They have a lot of hurling done this year – this is only good for them. The more games you can play at this level the better it is for you.”