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*Sixmilebridge senior hurlers standing for the national anthem. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
SIXMILEBRIDGE will not be caught when it comes to heart and determination in the Clare SHC, one of their most decorated hurlers has said.
Niall Gilligan this year has joined Sean Stack’s management with The Bridge’s senior hurlers. During his playing career, Gilligan claimed seven Clare SHC titles and a semi-final tie with Éire Óg stands in their way of returning to the county final.
Yet another comprehensive win saw Sixmilebridge prevail against Wolfe Tones in the quarter-finals and of the four teams left standing they are the only one yet to lose a game.
Despite this, Gilligan is adamant there is still room for improvement. “We’re happy to move on but there are a lot of things that we can improve on. I felt that the game was still in the balance until Shane Golden got that goal in the third quarter as they [Wolfe Tones] had momentum and got the lead back to seven at one stage and if they were able to tack on a few more or get a goal, we might have been in trouble”.
A big positive in their run has been the tallies they are putting together, the 1999 All Star acknowledged. “We are racking up big scores at the moment but you’d say that there are definitely stiffer tests ahead. I mean if we can score 3-21 again in a semi-final, it would be a great boost so we’ll see how that goes”.
Having played alongside several of the current team, Gilly affirmed that their younger players making the step-up are really benefitting from playing alongside the experienced members of their side. “There are great lads in that dressing rooms and it’s great for younger lads to tog out beside them and playing with them.
“They see out the the full sixty minutes and try to grind it out until the end. We mightn’t win them all but they keep trying anyway and heart and determination isn’t what will beat them on the day anyway”.
Wolfe Tones manager, Ray Diviney said it was “hugely disappointing” for them to exit the championship in a display where they failed to get going. “In fairness to Sixmilebridge, they are a very seasoned team, are hurling well and have great experience and our lads perhaps gave them too much respect at times and kind of stood off them a small bit. That put us under pressure and we then started to lose the 50/50’s and once we conceded a few goals to fall behind, we were forcing things too much in playing catch-up”.
Although disappointed to bow out, the Shannon man took solace in the fact that they have added new players to their ranks. “It’s disappointing to go out at the quarter-final again as we had high hopes but it was just a frustrating day. However, while most of the ‘Bridge lads have been hurling together for the bones of ten years at senior level, we have a lot of young players introduced and we hope that they can gel to the same degree at some stage in the future”.
Diviney added, “At the end of the day, we’ve no excuses, the ‘Bridge beat us well even though we did give a good account of ourselves in the second half. It was the soft goals that made sure we didn’t really get within touching distance of them. This game will stand to the lads as we look to build a bigger and deeper panel for Wolfe Tones at senior level”.
