Friendship to be marooned for 70 minutes next Sunday

The vagaries of sport are such that two men who would not have been recognised in Lake County hurling circles as recently as 15 months ago are now household names in these parts. However, the instantly-recognisable Tribesmen duo of Brian Hanley and Anthony Cunningham will have to put their friendship aside for 70 minutes on Sunday in Cusack Park when they wear the bainisteoir bibs for Westmeath and Galway respectively in the eagerly-awaited Leinster SHC quarter-final (3.30pm). With Brian having assisted Anthony when the latter managed Galway's U21s, next weekend's rival managers know (and respect) each other inside out. This mutual respect immediately shone through when I met them last Friday in Athlone. Anthony recalled: "T'was many a good day in Croke Park Brian gave us with Athenry. He was good enough to come in with us with the Galway U21s and we had a very good spell. In fact, every team Brian has gone to has gone from strength to strength, both in club hurling in Galway and in the past year and a bit with Westmeath." Brian was modest about his call-up to the Galway U21 backroom team: "When Anthony rang me to get involved it was April 1st and I thought it was an April Fools' joke! It was thoroughly enjoyable working with Anthony and Pat O'Connor in Galway. What it gave me was an appetite for inter-county management. Anthony was very organised and from that I got the bug." Naturally, Galway will be expected to dispose of their hosts next Sunday with a bit to spare en route to the latter stages of the Liam MacCarthy Cup. But Anthony - who rightly acquired a high profile in Westmeath for Garrycastle's unprecedented march to this year's Andy Merrigan Cup decider - said he is treating Sunday's game "the same as if it's Offaly, Kilkenny or Wexford". He added: "Westmeath also have a match under their belt, which we don't. It wasn't a major surprise to me that Westmeath beat Antrim, knowing Brian and knowing the work he put in, and I say that genuinely. There is no stone unturned when you have Brian training and managing a team. It was a great, great result for Westmeath. They also had a very good minor team last year. Hurling might have played second fiddle to football in Westmeath over the years, but some players who were committed to other codes are playing hurling this year. The word has been from very early on in the year that Westmeath have a very professional outfit." While Brian was obviously delighted to produce the recent shock win over Antrim, having been well beaten by the same opposition in the Qualifiers last year, he opined: "If Antrim played all their games in Casement Park, they'd be close to winning any competition. Another major difference this year is that Westmeath are training, they are committed and they have done the work." Next Sunday's glamour tie against his native county will inevitably draw comparisons with last year when a mega-shock looked possible for long periods in Mullingar, but Brian was typically blunt in avoiding comparisons. "We have only five players from then and, from a panel of 33, we have only nine with us now. That game is irrelevant; it's gone. I was a new brush last year. Anthony is this year. Any new manager will be expecting a good result in his first day out in the championship. That's the reality of it. Yes, Galway did underestimate us. But we did get very lucky, because if you look at the video, four or five goals could have gone in. "Anthony has a new team this year as well, but we are fitter and stronger than last year. Yes, the element of surprise is gone but we're a new breed of animal and the pressure isn't going to be on us as such. The pressure will be on Galway to perform well." Anthony attended that game a year ago in Cusack Park when John McIntyre's men got an almighty scare and he stated: "It was very, very close for a very long time last year and we won't be taking anything for granted. That match is still talked about, as recently as after our recent league relegation matches against Dublin. A number of players said Galway got it wrong last year and they did take Westmeath for granted that evening, but we'll be well on our toes next Sunday. It's high-stakes business." The two-time All-Ireland senior medallist has asked for patience from Galway supporters: "Yes, there's an expectation there, but Galway haven't been a top-four team since 2005. Some of the Galway hurling folk find that hard to accept. They think you should be in an All-Ireland semi-final every year. Galway are going to have to walk before they can run to get back up there. There has been a fair bit of underage success but a lot of players haven't come through." Regardless of next Sunday's outcome, the two managers are keen that the other county maintains its current rate of progress. Brian concluded: "The fact is that Galway have a chance of winning Leinster. We have smaller goals, including winning the U21 'B' All-Ireland, but it's all relative. I am learning and I want to learn from my own mistakes. The defeat in the league final (by Carlow) has been worth five years' development for me. I took an awful look at myself since that. If Galway go on to win an All-Ireland, what I will be saying to Anthony on the first Sunday in September is that I hope, in some way, Westmeath have contributed to it. You can set up all the summer camps you like, but unless you win an All-Ireland you won't have young lads wearing 'Canning 14' on their backs hurling up against the walls." For his part, Anthony wrapped up with obvious sincerity: "As someone with a lot of contacts with Westmeath, it's great to see the hurling going so well and getting such a great response from the players. That's what we're all here for, to keep hurling going and to promote it. It's a fantastic game. Brian is probably better known now in Galway for what he has done in Westmeath than if he stayed in Galway!"