Fitzpatrick: "A huge game no matter what way we look at it”
Carlow's Fiachra Fitzpatrick is chomping at the bit for Carlow's Joe McDonagh Cup clash with Down this Saturday. Photo: INPHO/Tom Maher.
Forewarned is forearmed. Well that is what you would have imagined when Antrim took on Down in the final match of their Division 1B league campaign when a last minute Donal Hughes goal gave the Mourne Men a surprise 3-22 to 3-20 victory.
Yet despite this result, Antrim were once again on the receiving end of a late Donal Hughes goal in the Joe McDonagh Cup in a 1-22 to 0-23 reverse. What made this all the more galling for Antrim is that it happened in Dunloy which is traditionally a fortress for visiting sides.
Almost 150 miles down south, Fiachra Fitzpatrick is watching these results unfold. The Carlow player has been intrigued by what he has seen so far.
“Down came late both times. They have proved they are a 75-80 minute team. They have shown character. This is probably my fourth year up there. There is so much at stake for them. There is a carrot. A huge game, no matter what way we look at it,” the Mount Leinster Rangers clubman says.
Hurling followers in Carlow probably didn’t give the county much hope of doing well in the Joe McDonagh Cup this year. Fitzpatrick understands a result one way or another can change the opinions of a fickle public.
“Within the group, despite a disappointing league campaign we knew what was in us. The target is to get to a Joe McDonagh Cup final. From a long way out, we never felt we couldn’t get there. We knew players were coming back and there is a good buzz,” he says but confirms there is no sense of over-confidence after wins against Laois and Westmeath so far.
“There is probably pressure externally with people thinking we have a chance of getting to a Joe Mc final. People are talking, people are hoping.
“We cannot afford to get ahead of ourselves. We probably fell asleep at the wheel last year. We had two wins out of two and sleep walked into the third game which ultimately cost us. Kildare deserved their win on the day (2-23 to 1-20).
Training is becoming a little bit more enjoyable as the days get longer but the players are still working on their strength and stamina.
“The last ten days, the Tuesday after the Westmeath game, we trained on the Thursday and on Sunday morning. They were two heavy sessions. Full blood. You cannot take the foot off the gas completely. Despite having two wins, we still have lots to work on. We are well aware of that. No-one else is taking their foot off the gas,” says Fitzpatrick who acknowledges that, in the days leading up to the trip to Ballycran on Saturday, it will be more about honing their skills.
“This week, it will taper off a small bit. More sharpening up our hurling but we have put in a good bank of work over the last ten days.” For teams all over the country, the game of hurling dominates lives. Carlow and Down are no different.
“It is a matter of going up there and try to stay on winning. That is the aim and it is going to take a hell of a lot. We are doing everything in our power. We have to let our hurling do the talking, get the win and move on,” says Fitzpatrick.
