Veteran Kilcormac-Killoughey hero enjoying exciting Indian Summer
ADAM Screeney's injury time goal may have won the day for Kilcormac-Killoughey in Sunday's pulsating Leinster Club Senior Hurling Championship semi-final win over Castletown Geoghegan but James Gorman's three pointer three minutes earlier was possibly the most important score of the match.
The Offaly champions were trailing 1-12 to 0-13 at that stage, on very thin ice and staring a devastating defeat in the face. 36 year old Gorman was only on the field from the 49th minute but he made a terrific impact. Instructed to stay in close to goal, Gorman showed his vast experience as he dropped in behind his man who went for the ball but missed it. He gained possession five metres out and with only the goalkeeper to beat, he made no mistake to put K-K 1-13 to 1-12 ahead.
Screeney's goal gave them a 2-13 to 1-13 win and K-K now have a Leinster final date with Dublin's Na Fianna to look forward to in Croke Park next Saturday.
Gorman is very much one of the elder statesmen on the K-K team, a survivor from the breakthrough years from 2012 onwards. As his life entered a new phase, there were plenty of times in the past couple of years when he considered opting out of top flight hurling.
Gorman admitted: “In fairness, there were a few stages when I thought about it. I went to Abu Dhabi for a year, I came back and hurled a bit of senior B, I went back up senior A. I had a little child there last year, little Tom and life changes but when you see the young lads coming, what they are bringing and their enthusiasm, the craic they bring, it is easy to go back training, it is easy to do the hard days and hard nights at training.”
Gorman knew they had flirted with danger when he spoke a few minutes after the final whistle.
“It was looking like we weren't going to get there half way through the second half. Castletown had a great patch there and got some great scores. They went back ahead two or three points but lucky enough the ball landed in my hand and I scored the goal.”
It was suggested that the conditions were ideal for him with long ball going in and the hurling very physical.
“I like hurling in any weather but in the second half the wind was coming and we knew the ball was going to come in long. In fairness, the lads told the first fifteen to work as hard as they could and the five lads that came in to work as hard as they could as well. We all knew we had a job to do. We knew, it wasn't going to be easy coming to Mullingar, it is never easy coming up here. Castletown showed last week what a good team they are and they showed it again today. We are just delighted that we could get out and get another day out next week.”
With the referee adopting a let it run policy, every ball was hard earned out there.
“At this time of year, you know you are not going to get easy frees. He told Conor Slevin at the start of the game that he was going to let it go as much as he can, he wasn't going to let easy frees and if you were playing for a free, he was never going to give it. We knew that was coming, the boys got hit hard, they picked themselves up and went about their business and hurled as quick and as best as they could.”
K-K have now come through three very tight games and a big take from them is that their outstanding young talent are well able to hurl at this time of year in Winter conditions.
“That is it. The young lads are known for their hurling and all their skill, what they have shown with Offaly but we know from training that these boys will dog out anything, that they will work as hard as anyone else on the field. They will get turned on their arse, they will get back up and they will hit the next lad that is coming. These young lads are a great bit of stuff and then you have the likes of Damian Kilmartin, Jordan Quinn, Conor Mahon, Oisin Mahon, Enda Grogan. All the older lads that have been at it for years and know how tough these games are and know what is needed to win them. We have a nice mix of lads that know how to hurl and get stuck in as well.”
While people are talking about K-K's young talent, they would not flourish without the older players all around them.
Gorman agreed:
“No, these young lads are going to be there for years to come but we are still hungry and we want to win. We still work as hard as they do, we still turn up to training. Everyone of us auld lads still love the game and that is why we are still playing it. We still want to play, we haven't been back in Croke Park since 2013 so it is great at 36 years of age to get the chance to play there again. We will work on it during the week and see who wins.”
It may be early for some of their young players to be talking about Leinster and All-Ireland club glory but Gorman knows from experience that these chances don't always come around.
“We turned up out of minor, myself, Damian Kilmartin, Conor Mahon, that age and we got into a senior final straight away and we thought we were going to be in them every year. Tullamore beat us and we kept thinking we are going to be there but it took us a few years to win one and then we won three in a row. It took us another three years to get back and win one again.
“We have told the boys that every game they play might be the last chance of winning a big game or playing in these Leinster championship games. That you have to take every game as it comes and keep pushing as hard as we are.”
K-K may have been only a puck of the ball or so away from defeat in their last three games but the impression that anything is possible for them this year is a powerful one.
“There is only two teams left in Leinster now, there is Ballygunnar, Sarsfields. Two teams up north, Slaughtneil and Portaferry, and Loughrea so there is only a handful of teams left. We know if we put in the effort, we are as good as anyone who is left. Maybe Ballygunnar are a step ahead but we have played them before in challenge games and we know we can stand with them. We are confident enough that if we play to the best of our ability and work as hard as we can, that we have every chance of winning.”