INTERVIEW: 'He's an absolute leader,' says Moneygall captain Fogarty about Sean Kenneally

A satisfied Moneygall manager in Willie Greene greeted media in the bowels of Semple Stadium, just hours after his side booked their place in this year’s Intermediate final after a tough semi-final against Cappawhite.

Moneygall supporters and players will have had tough memories of a similar semi-final last year, losing out to Boherlahan Dualla in similar conditions in Templetuohy, and the relief and satisfaction was evident on Greene’s part.

“Today was very, very similar to the conditions we experienced last year over in Templetuohy,” he highlighted.

“But thankfully, this time around, we got over the line and we’re delighted to be back in a county final again, and we’ll be hoping to go one better than we did two years ago against Lorrha.

“I suppose games like that (semi-final) are as good as ten training sessions. We’ll be battle-hardened after it.

“If you listen to a lot of the talk around they’d be saying that Moneygall are favourites but we did get a right trimming in the league final from Ballingarry, who as it happens now, we’re going to be facing in the county final.”

These sides have recent history, with Ballingarry easily accounting for their northern opponents in the league final early in the summer, and Greene emphasised te margin of victory was more than warranted on the day, and the performance of Dylan Walsh on that day, and in the subsequent games leading to this final, has been more than taken onboard by Moneygall.

“They beat us by 12 points on the day and it could have been a lot more, so we have plenty to work on coming up to the final, and for that reason, Ballingarry will probably be hot favourites going into the final.

“We have a lot of lads who have a lot of experience built up with the club or with the county as well and that is really helping to drive the team and it should be a huge benefit to us going into the final now.

“Dylan (Walsh) has been playing exceptionally well. He went very well against Golden on the last day and to be honest, they have more than Dylan as well.

“People talk about us with Seanie (Kenneally) and Joe (Fogarty) but they have a great team there as well that are playing very well.

“I saw them in the county championship against Kilsheelan as well and they’ve come out on top in a few really tough battles and we’re under no illusions.

“We’ve played Ballingarry a couple of times in the last few years and there should be nothing in it. We’re both going into a county final to win and there should be very little in it,” he added.

Moneygall have been raging hot favourites from the outset of this championship, and that has gained further weight in their performances in the championship prior to the semi-final, registering massive scores in impressive displays.

They have a youthful team with underage success bringing through real talent in the last four or five years, and team captain Paddy Fogarty is among them.

He highlighted the impact that the younger players have made on the fortunes of the club’s first team, including exalting Seanie Kenneally’s influence in terms of his performances on the pitch, and his leadership.

“Seanie has been showing a lot of maturity this year. He’s an absolute leader,” Fogarty emphasised.

“There are other lads as well stepping up in fairness.

“Cian Ryan has come in this year and made a big impact but look, overall we’re trying to get that right blend and that has been key to us getting over the line in tight games this year and hopefully, that will make the difference in the final.

That youthful infusion has changed the fortunes of this Moneygall team, and while they have been in the knockings of the last four and final over the last five or six years, it is only in recent years you get the feeling they have the quality and belief to go one step further.

“Yeah, we really want to drive on and make sure we make use of the talent coming through.

“It’s great bringing through these young players but you need to push onward and get up to the level needed so this is the moment now really.

Moneygall fell at this stage to a strong Lorrha team two years ago, and Fogarty and his teammates will be desperate to perform to a higher level this time around.

“They (Lorrha) put a marker down early and we weren’t really able to make it up. We’ve put a lot of focus into that since and have tried to get into games early and bring that pace that we know is needed. Set the tempo early.

“That hurt (from last year) has really carried us through the year. Because that lives with you.

“It was a long winter after the loss in dirty conditions, but the win over Cappawhite was in dirty conditions and we managed to pull it out of the fire.

“So, I think that will stand to us far more than any of the wins we had in the group stages earlier in the campaign,” he finished.