‘If you spend too much time looking back, that is where your focus will be’

SHC PREVIEW - KILTALE VIEW

Following their stunning victory over champions Ratoath in the semi-final, John Donoghue’s Kiltale are back in the decider for another tilt at their first SHC title since 2018 which came at the end of an incredible run that saw the club claim five Jubilee Cups in a row.

If Kiltale do claim their 10th SHC title in Trim on Sunday, it will have been a long journey back to the summit but two weeks ago in the semi-final there was a sense of a huge weight lifted off their shoulders when they dethroned Andy Dermody’s side.

“It wasn’t a very healthy lead after playing with a strong breeze in the first-half. It probably helped us that the wind did die down a bit as the second-half went on,” said Kiltale manager Donoghue.

“In the first 10 minutes of the second-half we managed to get on the front foot and got a couple of scores. Ratoath did not get that initial burst they needed to eat into the lead. The longer the half went on the more pressure started to heap on Ratoath. We kept the scoreboard ticking here and there and it was enough to get us over the line.”

Kiltale came so close to beating Ratoath 12 months ago in the decider but Donoghue went on to explain that his side have not used last year’s disappointment for motivation but have rather drawn from the experience of it.

“We certainly would not have talked much about last year and losing that final. It hasn’t been a motivation or anything like that. If you spend too much time looking back, that is where your focus will be," suggested the Kiltale boss.

"What we would have taken from last year is that if you want to win a final, you have to show up and perform really well. We did that for large parts of the drawn game last year but we just couldn't get over the line and then in the replay, Ratoath handled us fairly easily. It is more the experience from last year that you try to tap into rather than motivation.”

However, Kiltale are under no illusions that another titanic battle awaits them in Trim on Sunday. Donoghue has been impressed with how Kilmessan took the SHC group stage by storm and established themselves as the front runners by automatically qualifying for the final.

“Kilmessan’s performances have been excellent and it hasn’t come overnight. They have been building towards it for the last few years. More and more younger players have been breaking through for them. They have been maturing well and a lot of them have a few seasons of adult hurling behind them so they are well conditioned. They have a massive amount of energy and have been racking up huge scores.”

A huge talking point in this year's various hurling championships has been the changes to the structure. Donoghue was a huge advocate for the new structure and he spoke about how he has enjoyed the challenge of the new format.

“I have enjoyed the challenge of the new structure. We lost our second-round game to Kilmessan and we have been basically playing knock-out hurling since then," he said.

"That comes with its own tensions and nervousness but that is what championship is and every game should feel really important. In the previous structure there was too much of a buffer there to get that championship feeling in the group games. I think it has made for a much more exciting championship and you can see it in the crowds and excitement around the games as well.”

Donoghue concluded by suggesting that his side will have to improve further if they are going to reverse the form of that aforementioned second-round contest with Kilmessan and lift the Jubilee Cup.

“There is no hiding from it, when we played Kilmessan in the second round, we were second best by a distance. So going by that, we have ground to make up. I think we have improved as the championship has gone on but my own sense of it is that we will need to improve again to get over Kilmessan.”

Despite Donoghue’s suggestion that Kiltale need to improve and Kilmessan’s form in the group stage, many will be predicting that Kiltale can get over the line and win their 10th Jubilee Cup this weekend.