Can Sars complete a remarkable journey?

On Sunday 20 October at around 5.30pm, the Sars players, management and supporters head out of SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh disappointed at surrendering their grip on the Sean Óg Murphy Cup and wondering where to go from there.

Well who would have thought that a short few months later they would be Croke Park-bound for the AIB All-Ireland Club Final?

The journey has been remarkable and well documented, now the focus is on completing that journey and ending a long wait for the Andy Moore Cup to return to the Rebel County.

2006 was the last time when Newtownshandrum were crowned champions; in fact Sars’ win in the Munster Final was also a first for Cork since Newtown won it in 2009.

Their semi-final win in Munster over Feakle was a first Cork triumph since Glen Rovers in 2016, and that in a championship that Cork clubs had dominated for years, principally through the exploits of the then big 3: Glen, ‘Barrs and Rockies, while Newtown to their credit stamped their own mark on the championship.

That though is now confined to history as this present group from Sars set out to make their own piece of history.

In the immediate aftermath of the county final loss, manager Johnny Crowley wondered where would they go especially after their first training session afterwards “was without doubt the worst session I have ever seen, anywhere. There was no energy, interest or enthusiasm; I said to myself what the hell are we doing here?”

What changed? “It’s all down to the players, they had a chat after that session and decided let’s go for this and here we are now, heading to Croke Park - unbelievable really.”

Johnny admits it’s been brilliant for the club. “The atmosphere around the place is incredible and the lift it has given everyone, we all know what the last 2 years have been like with everything that happened and now it’s so different, when you hear our President Denis Hurley say ‘I never thought I would see Sars play in Croke Park’ it puts everything into perspective.”

Team captain Conor O’Sullivan expressed the same sentiments and is really enjoying the build-up. “Absolutely loving it - training over Christmas and getting ready for an All-Ireland Final is something very special and we are savouring every minute of it all.”

It is some turnaround from the county final. “Remarkable really but after a poor training session we sat down as a group and said let’s go for this.”

While they were expected to beat Feakle, the win over Ballygunner showed their quality. “That was very special winning against the odds and while it did not make up for the county final, it went a long way to easing the pain.”

The All-Ireland Semi-Final win against Slaughtneill was a grind but another good test. “A different type of game and we dug out a win in tough circumstances against a team that had been down that road before.”

As for Na Fianna, Conor had this to say: “They are a very good team. We have looked at them, just as they have at us I suspect. They have quality forwards will a lot of pace and we will need to be at our best to win, but despite all the bad weather, our preparation has been very good and really looking forward to Sunday.”

The Dublin and Leinster champions have impressed en route to Sunday’s decider and their win over Loughrea in the semi-final by 0-17 to 0-16 showed their resolve in difficult conditions and their manager Niall Ó Ceallachain is delighted with their progress.

It’s back to back county titles and Ó Ceallachain, who was appointed Dublin manager on 10 September, and only the 2nd club from the capital to reach a hurling final said it’s down to everyone working together.

“Our win over Loughrea was achieved by hanging in to the end and the work we had done in the build-up paid off, but we know that we have a lot of work to do for the final but at least we have the opportunity to do just that.”

Niall was not surprised that the Sars semi-final was also a tight affair, another 1 point game. “Semi-finals are for winning and Slaughtneill are a good team, so are Sars; it will make for an intriguing final and one both clubs will be eagerly looking forward to.”

There is a nice balance in their team and they also have the experience of playing in Croke Park, only a few Sars players have that experience, and they also have pace and that will help.

Jonathan Tracey is a competent goalkeeper while Conor McHugh, Liam Rushe and Kevin Burke are solid defenders.

Brian Ryan and Peter Feeney form a hard working midfield pairing while in attack they have quality forwards.

In fact Sars boss Johnny Crowley reckons Na Fianna have 6 top class attackers that will need minding but he has huge faith in his defenders to do just that.

Donal Burke, AJ Murphy and Sean Currie have revelled in this run to date.

Sars themselves have somewhat reshaped their team since the county final and it has paid huge dividends, and a big factor has been the return to full fitness of Cathal McCarthy.

Injury curtailed his season early on, but his form in the Munster campaign and in the semi-final, plus his pace and ability to knock over points is a huge addition.

Ben Graham’s lengthy puck outs along with an air of confidence in goal has been excellent while Conor O’Sullivan, Paul Leopold, Luke Elliott and Cillian Roche have hardly put a foot wrong in defence.

Daniel Kearny continues to excel while up front Aaron Myers, Jack O’Connor and Daniel Hogan (now on the Cork panel) and Cian Darcy are all playing very well.

Add in the impact off the bench particularly that by Shane O’Regan has them in good shape heading into this decider, the first ever between teams from Cork and Dublin.

It has the makings of a fascinating encounter, pace on both sides which will be crucial in the wide open spaces of HQ, as they strive to carve out their own piece of history.

Cork’s record in this championship has been poor in recent years, but I give Sars the nod to end that long wait on Sunday and become the All-Ireland club champions for the very first time in their proud history. One more step on what has been a truly remarkable and exciting journey. Sars to win.

The match is live on C103.

Mixed results last weekend

Heartiest congratulations to Watergrasshill on being crowned All-Ireland Intermediate champions with a superb performance last Sunday, completing a story that looked unlikely at the outset of the county championship, but they are now worthy and deserving county, Munster and All-Ireland champions. I’m sure the celebrations are still going on down there and rightly so.

No such joy for Russell Rovers who came up short in the junior decider and also heartbreak for Kilmurry in football, who lost their All-Ireland semi-final in the cruellest way possible - a penalty shoot-out.

Although I must say the penalty that the Donegal lads got late in extra-time looked a very soft one to me.

Finally congratulations to GC Mhuire North Mon on their outstanding achievement in reaching the Dr Harty Cup semi-final. Not fancied at the outset, they are now the last remaining Cork school left in this prestigious competition.

The Mon and Flannans in the semi-final has a special ring to it.