Tipperary CSH Final Preview: Sars's Boss Mark came with a blank canvas

Sarsfields Manager Mark Dowling is relishing patrolling the tramlines of Semple Stadium on county senior hurling final day in Tipperary, having experience the decider on one occasion in the past.

But, as he continued his, and his charges, preparations for the big game, he explained to The Tipperary Star that he is under no illusions whatsoever, as to the enormity of the challenge, Loughmore Castleiney will present. Their ability to dig out results has been seen again this year in both codes as they returned to the scene of the 2020 crimes on the double again.

“We have no doubt about the size of the opposition in front of us and the enormity of the hurdle we have to jump,” he says. “The Mid Final is a long forgotten thing and was at a different point of the season when teams are only getting themselves together. It was really not a true reflection of where teams were at. This is their second county final in two years and the way they fought back in their semi-final showed their incredible spirit and self belief,” Mark said.

The Kilkenny man has been credited with bringing a new freshness to the Sarsfields outfit – an outfit which looked to have been tiring, going stale, and running out of oxygen having been on the road with great success for many years. But, his approach was simple, straight forward and sensible.

“From where I stood, I came in with a blank canvas in front of me and took the players at face value. We looked at all available players and everyone was given a run at it. The team evolved over the season, but it is a moveable feast in that sense because there are plenty of other guys who could feature on any given day, and may well feature yet too.
“They are in good shape and like all senior hurlers and footballers around the country, you have to look after yourself and make sure you are in good shape. The lads have done that and a lot of that is down to themselves and we just try to put the finishing touches on them,” he says.

Many have pointed to a more direct style of play from Sarsfields in the semi-final clash with Kiladangan. However, they used plenty of through-the-lines hurling during the course of the season too, and Mark is adament that each game has to be played its own way and that the styles have to be fluid and interchangable.

“ We play each game on its merits and look at the opposition and try to pick a style that suits the game they play. With the players we have, they are capable of playing the game any number of ways – we have certain guys who are good in the air, while others prefer to play through the lines. I don't think there is any one style in particular that we play – you can't get boxed into that because you have to be able to adapt and be versatile. It just evolves as the year goes on. It is always good to have new faces coming in and keep the pressure on guys who have been there for a while and are maybe getting a bit too comfortable in themselves,” he says.

Victory over Kiladangan in the semi-final was a sweet one for Sarsfields – many in Tipperary had pointed to a shift in the club power base to the north division with Borris-Ileigh and Kiladangan winning titles. But, the north won't be represented this year and when the final whistle sounded in that hard fought win over the county champions, it unleashed a wave of emotion for The Blues.

“I suppose there was an outpouring of emotion at the end because there was a lot of hard work gone into it during the year. When you get through semi-finals, which are always dogged affairs -and that one was very tense and went right down to the wire- it leads to an intensity in the celebration. But, we put a cap on it fairly quickly because there was nothing won at that stage. It was an incredible test but I think that to say that we had not been tested, as some had claimed, is unfair on other teams that we had played. We came up against really good teams all year and were fortunate to come through some of them, getting breaks in games that might not have gone for us on other occasions,” Mark says.

One of the good news stories of the campaign has been the return to action of Billy McCarthy after a series of horrendous injuries. Mark has great respect for Billy and admires him for his resilience and having embarked upon the journey he has travelled. And, he is a real option now for Sarsfields in the attacking division.

“He has been out for so long and has gone through so much torture. When players get injured like that they can go off the radar a bit and they have to go and work so hard on their own – it is a lonely road and he got through all of that on his own and the reward has been great for him to get on in the semi-final,” he said.

A final showing would be stuff of fairytales for Billy who will be hoping to get the nod at some stage in the encounter.