But Rangers' star forward is not underestimating the threat Garrycastle pose, writes IAN O'RIORDAN
IN HIS skinny jeans, desert boots, and black sports jacket he doesn’t strike you as the archetypal Crossmaglen footballer, but Jamie Clarke actually personifies their current style of game – slick, energetic and fashionably dressed to impress.
Indeed the Crossmaglen team to face Garrycastle in tomorrow’s AIB club final will be a lot slimmer and suppler than the 1997 version, which won them their first of five All-Ireland titles and featured some major building blocks such as Francie Bellew and Tony McEntee.
Clarke weighs in somewhere around the 10-stone mark, and even at age 22 has established himself not just as one of the best forwards in the club game but perhaps the country too. He hit 2-3 in last year’s All-Ireland final and has once again been instrumental in getting Crossmaglen back to Croke Park.
He says Crossmaglen have simply designed their game according to the material at hand – using the type of players available to style their game, rather than the other way around. At least that’s what McEntee figured when he came in as manager at the start of last season.
“I suppose when Tony and Gareth O’Neill came in last year they knew we had a whole new crop of players,” says Clarke, “but that we weren’t as big and as physical as the previous teams.
“So really we’ve tried to adapt to this new style of football, where it’s fast-moving. We do move it fast up the wing and just get it in as quickly as possible to the forwards. It’s paying dividends for us so far, so why change the formula? But I think you’re just seeing everyone’s full potential from the style of football.”
Clarke’s own fleetness of foot has already had former Crossmaglen and Armagh manager Joe Kernan comparing him to Kerry’s Colm “Gooch” Cooper.
“Well, you have to take those comments with a pinch of salt,” says Clarke with a smile. “It’s nice to get personal recognition, but if it wasn’t for Crossmaglen and how successful they were I wouldn’t get those accolades.”
Crossmaglen will start as favourites, not only because of their formidable club record: in beating Dr Crokes in the semi-final they once again demonstrated their amazing capacity to survive a poor start and an apparently insurmountable deficit, as they fought back from 1-5 to 0-1 to record a three-point victory.
“Well we didn’t get off to the best of starts, but I think most of the lads turned to last year’s semi-final, where we were in the same position against Kilmacud Crokes. Conditions were terrible on the day but I think like all good Cross teams we just managed to keep fighting and come out the right side of the result.
“Also a lot of the young boys have come on to the scene now, and growing up they’ve looked at the likes of Francie Bellew and Oisín McConville consistently winning back-to-back county championships. They’re not used to getting beaten, and there’s a winning mentality there. I think the same applies in Kilkenny or Kerry at county level, and I think we just bring it through year after year. There’s a real attitude in Cross never to quit.”
For Clarke however it hasn’t been all about winning. He was a little young for the 2007 success, and his first All-Ireland final in 2009, against Kilmacud, ended in defeat.
He made amends last year, but there’s still a lingering awareness that no opposition can be underestimated, and especially not Garrycastle, even though they’re contesting a first final.
“We’ve already watched a few videos of Garrycastle, and they’re very big around the middle. It’s their first final, they’re going to have great support there, and they have great players like Dessie Dolan.
“Hopefully a lot of our boys will be more confident and more used to Croke Park on the big day, and that will stand to us. And I suppose we were always going to get that favourites’ tag going into the All-Ireland final once a team is there year after year.
“But we can’t go in with the mentality that we’re in another final, and we’re going to walk it. It’s not the case.
“In 2009 I think it was maybe ‘we’re back here again’, but things didn’t go right that day. There’s an hour’s football to be played yet and I think we can even learn from the last day out, that if we take our eye off the ball for one second, it can easily go past you.”
Crossmaglen: keeping up the record
PATH TO THE FINAL
Ulster quarter-final: Crossmaglen 3-9, St Gall's (Antrim) 2-5
Ulster semi-final: Crossmaglen 0-17 Ballinderry (Derry) 1-10
Ulster final: Crossmaglen 2-11 Burren (Down) 0-10
All-Ireland semi-final: Crossmaglen 3-8 Dr Crokes (Kerry) 2-8
SEASON STATISTICS
Average for: 2-12 Average against: 1-9
Top scorers: Aaron Kernan 1-14, Oisín McConville 2-7, Stephen Kernan 1-5, Aaron Cunningham 1-4, Jamie Clarke 1-4
PREVIOUS ALL-IRELAND FINALS
1997: Crossmaglen 2-13 Knockmore (Mayo) 0-11
1999: Crossmaglen 0-9 Ballina Stephenites (Mayo) 0-8
2000: Crossmaglen 1-14 Na Fianna (Dublin) 0-12
2007: Crossmaglen 1-9 Dr Crokes (Kerry) 1-9 (Draw)
2007: Crossmaglen 0-13 Dr Crokes 1-5
2009: Kilmacud Crokes (Dublin) 1-9 Crossmaglen Rangers 0-7
2011: Crossmaglen Rangers 2-11 St Brigid's (Roscommon) 1-11
Final record: Played 7, won 5, drew 1, lost 1
