O’Brien hails ‘top drawer’ display vs Carlow as Price and Murtagh retire
When it was put to Westmeath senior hurling manager, Shane O’Brien, that his side had ended their Joe McDonagh Cup on a good note yesterday by defeating Carlow, the Dubliner responded: “Yes it was a good note, but the most powerful note of all was the guard of honour for the lads at the end there, people who have given so much to Westmeath hurling.”
O’Brien was referring to the retirement of two of Westmeath’s marquee players of the third millennium, with the Clonkill duo of Brendan Murtagh and Eoin Price both wearing the maroon and white colours for the last time after truly outstanding careers. They are hugely respected figures in the small ball game, not just in the Lake County, but the length and breadth of Ireland.
“When you look at what we went through leading up to the Antrim game, Brendan (Murtagh) answered the call when we were down so many bodies. It just shows you the calibre of the person you are dealing with. It was a lovely moment today,” he added.
Reverting to the game itself, the bainisteoir added: “The performance today was absolutely top drawer, bar the last five minutes when we took the foot off the pedal a little bit. The lads have been immense during the past four weeks in training.
“It is an awful shame that we didn’t get to work with the group before the Antrim and Kerry games. You could see the difference in the play today. What stands out more than anything is the spirit within this group. They are a credit to themselves and their clubs.
“We started very well before we leaked that goal and they got a bit of a run on us. We played as well as we have all year, including some of the good performances in Division 1.
“We played as a unit, and some of the stuff we have been working on in training in recent weeks showed there today. There was a lot of good team play, some outstanding scores, and top class performances as well.
“Every line of the team played well, starting with our goalie Eoin Skelly. I thought he was immense today. He pulled off two or three superb saves.
“The defence was rock, rock solid. We could name all six defenders. We couldn’t ask for any more from them. We’ve been short players in this campaign, but isn’t it great that we’ve managed to see so many lads? We have a lot of young lads coming through. That will stand to them for the coming campaign,” he stated.
When asked about the display of Aonghus Clarke (who scored 0-13), O’Brien replied: “He was superb. We know the standards that Aonghus sets for himself and for those around him. He was top drawer again today.”
It was inevitable that the manager would look back again with regret on his side’s bitterly disappointing opening two games.
“Naturally, we’re very disappointed that we don’t have another game in this competition. I’d love to see us having another crack at Antrim or Kerry having got a bit of work into our lads. We weren’t able to prepare properly for those games, unfortunately,” he opined.
“On every level, we are hoping that 2021 will be a better year than this one. The sooner this vaccine comes in the better, and that we can get crowds in to enjoy games like today. I thought it was a really brilliant game from start to finish.
“Credit is due to the groundsmen here in TEG Cusack Park. The pitch was in fantastic condition. It was as good a game as you would get in the middle of summer. We could all do now with a well-earned break,” the winning manager concluded.
– Gerry Buckley