SHC Final Focus... Canty searching for that extra gear
JIMMY GEOGHEGAN
Considering they only won by a point and had to rely on goalkeeper Charlie Ennis to make a collection of saves straight out of the 'Art of Great Goalkeeping' manual, it might be expected that Trim manager Jimmy Canty would be a little concerned about how his team played in that memorable, thrill-a-minute semi-final encounter against Kildalkey almost two weeks ago.
Not a bit of it. Sure Ennis had a great game and sure Trim lived on their wits at times but they still won didn't they? Clearly someone who prefers to look at something from an optimistic view rather than from the glass half empty stance, Canty feels that if anything the nature of his team's display in that rollicking, relentless encounter indicated something different entirely. It showed there is still more to come from his players. There is still an extra gear or two to be found.
"We know we played within ourselves in the semi-final yet we got through and won, which is a great thing," is how he put it. "Things didn't always go our way yet we showed grit and determination to dig out a victory. Based on that we can re-focus and look forward to the final. There's definitely more to come from this team, we know that ourselves."
There was something else the Trim players showed in that semi-final that gives the manager hope going into Sunday's big showdown. Trim, having already defeated Kildalkey in the league final and championship, went into that game as favourites; a tag that teams wear with about as much comfort and ease as if they had a tonne of bricks on their back. Canty believes his team handled the pressure well and can do so again.
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"Going into the semi-finals people were saying we were the favourites and sometimes that can be hard to play but we responded well to that pressure. We responded in a very positive manner even when Kildalkey got their goals and that was great to see. Because we qualified for the semi-finals from the group phase we didn't have a game for a few weeks and that can be an issue, Kildalkey had a quarter-final."
Not that Canty wants to talk his team up too much either. He refers to Ratoath as "a very good, physically fit, skilful team," a reality that will ensure Trim won't go into the game labouring under any illusions. This will be difficult.
A young manager, only turned 40, Canty has been around the game long enough to know that while it's good to have belief in your own abilities it's also a nailed on certainly that any over-confidence or "presumptions" as he puts it, will be demolished by reality as sure as a wrecking ball dismantles a crumbling wall. So Trim, he assures us, will not be going into Sunday's game with any notions other than believing they have a big job on their hands. Wary, but believing also.
One of the key aspects of managing a team, Canty has learned, is communicating properly with players. Making sure they know what is required once they cross the white line. He also sees his role as trying to ensure the players didn't suffer from burnout this year, a particularly relevant issue in a club like Trim where football and hurling are played at a high level. It was about communicating, right down the line with football manager Kevin Reilly and others.
Canty knows too what it takes to win a senior championship. While he has strong connections with Kildalkey (his father Jimmy played in the Village blue back in the 1960s and '70s) Jimmy junior grew up in Trim and won three SHC medals in the famous red jersey, in 1998, 2000 and 2001. He played for Meath too under managers John Davis, Michael Duignan and Johnny Murray so he is not short of role models to draw inspiration from - and coaching knowledge too.
A project manager in the construction sector Jimmy Canty spent a few years in Australia. He coached Down Under, looking after a team in Brisbane. He liked the experience. He has also worked with various under-age teams in Trim. Last year he managed the Trim u-21s to a championship crown.
Then this year the chance came up to take charge of the senior side. It has been enjoyable too although one or two aspects of the role have surprised him, not least how much time managing a team an eat up. "You can be consumed by it, you end up doing a few more things in the background, issues you have to look after but in general it has been enjoyable and we are going well.
"When you finish playing you think you are never going to replicate the same feeling that goes with a win but it's very satisfying too as a manager to get a good result especially if you come from behind. We had to dig out a couple of results this year."
One of those games that had to be carved out of granite was the group match against Ratoath. "We were down a man and still came through, when you get a good result like that, it's very satisfyingly," he adds.
Canty will be hoping his team can once more produce the kind of gritty, stubborn performance they displayed in that game - and in the semi-final win over Kildalkey. If they do, and play to their full potential, he knows they have a chance on Sunday. A real chance.