Corofin can expect some northern efficiency on March 17th.
Francis McEldowney sits down to do his round of pre-match interviews with the media and immediately says that he’s a little intimidated with various reporters and their microphones pushed under his nose.
If the Slaughtneil captain is apprehensive it’s certainly at odds with how he and his side have performed in their AIB GAA All-Ireland Club Championship campaign over the last 13 months.
The Derry outfit are on the cusp of a first ever All-Ireland title having upset the odds at various stages this season. They have come through a tough Derry campaign, while in the Ulster series they disposed of Omagh to claim a first ever provincial crown. For outsiders Slaughtneil’s journey has been a surprise.
However McEldowney feels the surprise that has greeted their results is something he’s found hard to understand.
‘I don’t know. We’ve always had the team. We’ve always been there or thereabouts you know. Everybody keeps asking that question and it’s 10 years since we won it but if you look back over that time any game we’ve been beaten in it was by a point or a goal, always a kick of a ball. This year it’s the same thing but we’ve been the right side of it.’
Derry sides are among the most successful teams in the Ulster championship. Clubs from the Oak Leaf county have claimed 13 tiles in the province shared among seven clubs. Ballinderry lost out at the last four in the All-Ireland last season after a four point loss to eventual champions St Vincent’s. The defender feels that any side that does emerge from Derry is well prepared for challenges beyond their county bounds.
‘It is very very competitive. There are seven or eight teams and anyone could win the Championship and it does prepare you well for the Ulster campaign. If you come out of Derry you’re not a bad team and then you go into Ulster and the same. If you come through that then you feel that you’re well prepared for the All-Ireland series.’
You cannot talk about Slaughtneil without giving huge credit to their manager Mickey Moran. Not even Mick O’Dwyer can claim to have managed as many sides as the Glen native.
He’s widely credited as the central driving force and tactical brain behind the journey to an All-Ireland club final. Having managed his own Derry twice, as well as spells with Sligo, Leitrim, Donegal and Mayo, McEldowney says Moran gathered immediate respect in the dressing room.
‘We all knew Mickey, a few of us from Derry and knew what we were going to get from Mickey. He’s a well respected man, either inside or outside of his club. Soon as he came in he had the full respect of everybody
‘He’s played a massive role like he’s come in and he’s given boys confidence and belief in boys. The work he does he through DVDs definitely helps. During a match maybe he’s not as vocal, but he has the work done on the training ground and he has the trust in you to go out and do it.
‘He’s very good at that and very good at getting his message across. We all listen to him. He has trust in us and we have trust in him. Whatever he says we do our best to carry it out.’
Slaughneil’s last outing was an epic All-Ireland semi final clash with Austin Stacks. The one point win over the Tralee side was somewhat overshadowed by a serious injury to Christopher Bradley. He won’t feature next Tuesday after being on the receiving end of that monster shoulder that snapped his collarbone from Kieran Donaghy. McEldowney admits that his absence is a major blow.
‘It’s very hard on him. It’s disappointing for the team and nearly more disappointing for him in the year that he’s had. The rest of the team is going to have to step up.’
Bradley has been one of the key factors in county and provincial glory for the Derry outfit. McEldowney is warning Corofin that they will using his injury as motivation to life the All-Ireland title in his absence.
‘Aye, he’s still involved and up at training keeping the rest of the lads going you know. One thing we’ll want to do is win it for him because he’s pulled us out of a hole a couple of times this year and it would be nice to be able to do it for him.’
The game against Austin Stacks was regarded by club insiders as their finest performance of the season. The Derry side had to recover from conceding two penalties to a rampaging Kieran Donaghy but they never lost their composure.
They were level at the break after scoring an unanswered 1-3 before half-time. The Kerry side were slight favourites before throw in and Corofin, by virtue of their win over St Vincent’s, will also carry that tag into St Patrick’s Day. It’s not something that bothers the Derry man. He doesn’t see any need to change their gameplan for the Connacht champions.
‘We just went into it as a 50/50 game you know. We knew we had a chance and we knew they had a very good team too. Everybody was on about Donaghy but we done a bit of work on him and the boy Bohan and Mannix, all good players.
‘We knew we’d be up against it but we knew if we stuck to our guns we’d come out with the victory. It’s just the way we’ve been going all year. The manager just tells you to go the final whistle. Never give up and don’t panic like. That’s the main thing, don’t panic. Have faith in your own ability and keep going.’
That win came 24 hours after Corofin dumped the All-Ireland holders out in a thriller in Tuillamore. The Galway side came with a clear plan to deny St Vincent’s time and space to launch their impressive counter attacks. The Slaughtneil captain admits it would be hard for anyone not to be impressed by the manner of the Galway outfit’s win.
‘It was a massive victory for Corofin and they were well worth their victory. They were very sharp, their inside forwards very quick. They like to kick the ball, get it in quick. We’re going to have to do a little bit of homework on them and look after their full-forward line a wee bit.’
In terms of All-Ireland final experience Corofin clearly hold the advantage with their last appearance in 2010 as the lost to St Galls. Slaughtneil are first timers in Croke Park in mid-March. The occasion, the build up and the day itself can often be a factor in teams struggling to get up to the pace of a game. Is the captain worried that before his side realise the match is on their chance of a club title is gone from their grasp.
‘We were down on it last weekend and we had a walk around Most of the boys have all played big games and in hurling and football and in school. I’d have no fears of the occasion. It’s not too bad. It might be worse as a supporter but as a player, you’ve won your match, you’re back into training and you don’t get too much time to think about it. Everything’s going alright at the moment and everyone’s keeping their head down and training.’
If you want to see Slaughtneil take on Corofin in the AIB GAA All Ireland Club Championship final at Croke Park on March 17th tickets are available here
