Murtagh keen to shine in clash with new boss
Saturday November 14 2009
Clonkill are aware that the weight of history will be against them when they take to the field against Tullamore tomorrow, but the Westmeath champions are planning to upset the odds and reach the Leinster SHC final.
With home advantage in Mullingar and against a side they all grew up playing against in friendlies -- the clubs are just 25km apart -- there is nothing unknown about their challenge.
Build in the fact that the side has 'big game' experience from their All-Ireland intermediate win at Croke Park last season, plus the presence of inter-county players throughout the team, and there are tipsters out there who are tentatively looking at an upset.
For that to happen, Brendan Murtagh will have to bring his 'A' game to the table.
The 27-year-old centre-forward is their key man and scored 1-9 in the quarter-final win over Clough/Ballacolla two weeks ago, the first such result by a Westmeath side over a team from Laois. He's relishing the challenge of a Leinster semi-final.
form
"They don't come around too often, so we're all in good form and looking forward to it," he said. "We seem to be coming into form now. We came good for the county final and, hopefully, we can keep it going for Sunday."
And he says the Croke Park win last year means they won't be afraid of what tomorrow's opponents have to offer.
"It would have been a big help, especially experience-wise. We'd have no fear of anyone. We've had a lot of challenges and played a lot of the so-called bigger teams and when you're playing games like that you don't fear them as much as you would the first time you meet them.
"To play in Croker for your club, especially for a Westmeath team, it probably will never happen again. So it was a great experience, it was brilliant -- probably a once-in-a-lifetime job."
An added dimension to the clash comes with the newly-appointed Westmeath manager Kevin Martin lining out at full-forward for Tullamore, whom he also coaches.
Murtagh and county team-mates Andrew Mitchell and Eoin Price will be among those hoping to impress the new boss and he believes there would be no better way to make a mark than to knock the new man's team out of Leinster.
"He mightn't be too happy with it straight off, but we'll worry about that again. We'll have to beat them first.
"I won't meet him until after this game. I'll save it until after that, but he's playing full-forward and he's their main target man, so it should make it interesting alright.
"We'd know most of their team, particularly Shane Dooley, who's probably their best hurler. Seemingly, they're very fit.
"They're going to be hard to beat, that's for sure. We've a hard job ahead of us."
Whatever happens, Murtagh is expecting the All-Ireland winning Martin to exert a big influence in his new job when he takes charge. "We've a new man this year, he'll bring a lot to the table. He seems really good.
"We've the same physical trainer in Padraig Lynn and he's very good. So, if Kevin Martin is as good as people say he is, then we should do well. Things are looking good.
"Our real aim would be to hurl in Leinster and do well there, but obviously we're not there yet. However, we hope to have a good league and if we can compete well in that and get into the top two, it's not too big a goal."
- Ruaidhri O'Connor
Irish Independent
