'We didn't think of the clock, we just powered on'

GAELIC GAMES:AT 33, Alan Kerins's career reached an important milestone yesterday. His relatively brief dual career has yielded two All-Ireland football medals (Galway in 2001 and Salthill five years later). Now after another five-year interval the hurling has eventually followed and the pivotal switch had seen him switch with his brother Mark to kick-start a recovery O'Loughlin Gaels couldn't quell.

“Hurling’s always been my number one and Clarinbridge is my home parish,” he said. “We lost one in 2002 so it’s unbelievable to have it in both now. I don’t know what to say, really.”

He reflected on a season of surviving doomsday scenarios, climaxing in the legendary All-Ireland semi-final against Waterford’s De La Salle. “Our motto all the time was ‘next ball, next ball’. In the first match against Loughrea we were four or five points up at half-time and we watched the clock. They caught us and we’re lucky to be here today so we knew it was ‘next ball, next ball’ and we didn’t think of the clock, we just powered on. That’s why we were six, eight, 12 up, I think, at one stage.

“We started bad in the county final, started bad in the replay, started bad against De La Salle. The one thing that’s grown into us is composure all year and I think we showed that again. We only hurled for five minutes in the first half and were still level so we knew if we just went out and just went for it instead of watching it we were in with a chance.”

Was yesterday the team’s best display? “It probably was, the last 40 minutes. The first 20 were very poor – maybe it was the day, the stadium, the occasion – but once we got our minds focused on the next ball and work-rate, getting the ball in quick to the lads. We knew our game plan if we could stick to it.”

O’Loughlin Gaels manager Michael Nolan has had to explain some great comebacks by his own team this season but yesterday he was trying to rationalise the reverse process “We were going great for 27, 28 minutes in the first half and then we conceded kind of a soft goal. We couldn’t seem to get going again and they just hurled us off the field in the second half. We did lose our stride, but we got back to the dressingroom, regrouped and we came out focused again, but for some reason it didn’t happen for us.”

His Clarinbridge counterpart, Micheál Donoghue, paid tribute to his team. “It was a massive performance especially after the first-half performance . . . but at least the lads dragged themselves back into the game. For the 15 minutes coming up to half-time, I think we got the momentum and at half-time we addressed our game plan and the boys took it on board and bought it into the second half.”