English enjoying the fearless journey

ALL-IRELAND CLUB SF SEMI-FINAL:SATURDAY IS semi-final day in the AIB All-Ireland club football championship and Dromcollogher-Broadford were hoping to come in under the radar. They nearly got away with it too until team coach Ned English picked up the phone around lunchtime yesterday.

“I was just saying to John Brudair, our manager, that no one seems to be on to us,” said English. “I thought a couple more days and we’d be in the clear.”

It’s not that Dromcollogher are being accidentally overlooked; it’s more to do with their prospects. It’s the first All-Ireland semi-final for the Limerick champions, while their opposition, one Crossmaglen Rangers of Armagh, have played six, and won four – each time going on to win the All-Ireland. In other words, the odds are stacked against the small Limerick club.

“Well we will turn up anyway, I can assure you that” added English, who has been credited with helping to change the mindset of the small Limerick club since joining their backroom team at the start of last year.

“We know it’s not going to be easy. But we’re not worrying about it. Stress will eat you. It will eat you physically, and mentally. We realise the task at hand, the strength and experience of a team like Crossmaglen, but we’re really looking forward to it.

“Because we are enjoying the journey, especially now that we’re at the next step, further than this team has ever been. And everyone is up to the challenge. I think it has been a remarkable story, this small group of individuals each pushing themselves and practising hard to be the best they can.”

It’s not that Dromcollogher are being entirely dismissed, least of all by Crossmaglen. Truth is no one gave Dromocollogher any hope against Nemo Rangers in the Munster semi-final – and yet they won, 0-7 to 0-6. They then secured an equally narrow win over Kilmurry-Ibrickane of Clare to claim their first ever Munster title.

English is confident the self-belief instilled by the win over Nemo is still intact: “In ways we feel under less pressure than the last step. After beating Nemo there was a lot of pressure on us going into the Munster final, to deliver again. But we’ve nothing to lose now, and certainly nothing to fear. Fear is not part of what this team is about. It’s banished from the dressingroom. But respect for Crossmaglen, yes.

“But beating Nemo was a watershed. It showed this club is capable of achieving something. They’ve worked extremely hard in the weeks since then, and I think have coped well with the break over the New Year. And we’re lucky now to have a full strength panel, because we need it. There’s no way we’d have the depth of a team like Crossmaglen. But we can only be concerned about what we can control on the day, and deal with what we believe we are able to do.”

English kindly declined to give away any strategy or game plan for Saturday, but it’s obvious that breaking Crossmaglen’s defence will be their main task. The four-time All-Ireland winners have conceded precious little en-route to their semi-final, conceding just 0-6 to St Patrick’s of Fermanagh, 0-8 against St Eunan’s of Donegal, and 1-4 in the Ulster final replay against Ballinderry.

“They like a certain type of game, we know that. But the great thing about Gaelic football, unlike say rugby, is that there are so many different ways of playing. You can play the short ball, the long ball. Bring players behind the ball, play a two-man full-forward line. There are so many different strategies.

“Games at this time of year also have a habit of taking funny twists. And it’s difficult to know how Crossmaglen will react. In the back of their minds they’ll know they’re expected to beat this team, and sometimes it can be hard to get away from that mentality. It’s often the small things than can turn a game like this.

“But Crossmaglen are 4/1 on to win, and that’s fine. What’s important to us is that these players believe in their own ability, and aren’t just mouthing it.”