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*Eoin Óige Fanning of St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill.
ST JOSEPH’S DOORA/Barefield have taken ‘hard knocks but are learning serious lessons’ as they ready up for another relegation battle.
For the second year running, Dr Daly Park is the setting as St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield and Newmarket-on-Fergus meet in the relegation semi-finals of the Clare SHC, the game throwing in at 13:00 on Saturday.
Both sides starved off dropping down to intermediate last season but once again find themselves battling to stay in the top flight.
Doora/Barefield were unlucky to find themselves paired with Clonlara, Inagh/Kilnamona and Ballyea in Group 1, narrowly losing out to Clonlara and Ballyea.
Speaking to The Clare Echo, Doora/Barefield manager Damien Kennedy outlined, “We know what we have. We have loads of young talent coming through. We need to keep them. We have a team to build. In Clare any team can beat any other team in the championship, it is one of the best championships in the country, let’s call a spade a spade. We are heading into a relegation semi-final and all the teams there are serious hurling teams”.
Among the young guns that Kennedy has been impressed by include Thomas O’Connor, Graham Ball and Conor Daly.
Kennedy maintained that the Parish were learning from the different setbacks they have endured. “From our perspective we have taken hard knocks but we are learning serious lessons and how else do you build only by learning from your mistakes. Every game is vital. The bottom line is we didn’t get over the line. Its all ifs and buts. On any day any team can beat the other and that’s a really great championship to have”.
When asked if the format of the Clare SHC needs to be revised, he said, “I don’t know what the answer is. We came up with a really young team, we lost a couple of lads in their mid 20’s which is massive. We have survived. It wouldn’t be a bad conversation to have. Are there 16 teams in the championship where you have 8 stand out teams and another 8 that aren’t. I don’t think so. Last year I said we regretted the loss to Crusheen in round one. Now I’m saying we regret losing to Clonlara in the first round, on sixty minutes that game was level”.
