*Sixmilebridge’s Páidí Fitzpatrick. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
SIXMILEBRIDGE are gearing themselves up for a real championship test against Crusheen when both sides bid to record successive victories.
A six point win over St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield saw Sixmilebridge get their championship bid off to a winning start in round one of Group 4. On Saturday, they face Crusheen who had a point to spare against Newmarket-on-Fergus.
Joint manager of the Sixmilebridge senior hurlers, Tommy Liddy said the main focus for round one was to get a win under their belts. “We are happy as the main thing today was to come home with two points from Newmarket. Now we’re probably not as happy about the performance as we’d like to be but at the same time it’s something to work on for the future”.
He told The Clare Echo, “We played well once we settled in the first half but they [St Joseph’s] came at us in the third quarter and it took us a while to get hold of it again. I think our subs made a real difference in the last fifteen minutes and thankfully we did finish strong but we know that we still have a lot to work on”.
Last year, a final round loss to O’Callaghans Mills in the group stages deprived The Bridge of a place in the knockout stages. Liddy said they are determined to make amends this time round. “Look, the boys have been waiting 50 weeks for a championship match so it has been a long time and there were nerves coming into this evening because of the way we went out of the championship last year so with all that in mind, we’re just delighted to get the two points and look forward to the next challenge”.
On what they’re expecting from Crusheen this weekend, he said, “We know what to expect from Crusheen. They’re a championship team so we couldn’t read anything into their league form. Their Clare Cup was patchy but so was ours so I feel it will just come down to the day”.
