Munster Club SHC: Johnny Crowley hails belief within Sarsfields camp

Sarsfields were rank outsiders with the bookmakers beforehand, but within the camp there was a strong belief that they could create history.

Afterwards, manager Johnny Crowley hailed the way that their vision had become reality.

“We’re just over the moon,” he said.

“As a group of 47, 48, 50 people in our little bubble of management, players, logistics and everything, we genuinely believed we could win this game today.

“I think, outside of our bubble, nobody believed we could win the game, but we came up here today and we were so relaxed, so comfortable, we knew what we had to do and the way the lads executed the plan was just superb.

“We worked on getting a start. Ballygunner are such a fantastic team, you give them a foothold in the game and next thing they could be 10 points up. We spoke about that a lot. We wanted to get a foothold in the game and be in the game at certain stages.

“Get to the 15-minute mark, get to half-time, sit down, regroup, get your breather, and go again. Every quarter we were there or thereabouts. We did say if we could get to the last 15 within three or four points or up three or four points, we felt our fitness would see us through.”

Even though Dessie Hutchinson’s goal helped Ballygunner to level at 1-7 each, Sars remained calm and had the next four points.

“The lads executed exactly what we tried to apply in training,” Crowley said.

“We worked an awful lot on the second-phase ball. Ballygunner are a brilliant team in that they’re very structured and they know exactly what they do.

“They get the ball to ground and they win that second-phase ball. We worked so hard in training to win the second-phase ball. Our half-forward line and middle third were just awesome.”

And then, when they needed him, Shane O’Regan put aside any disappointment about not starting to come off the bench and score 2-3.

“Shane is a brilliant guy and a really intelligent GAA player,” Crowley said.

“Sometimes when he starts, he uses so much energy and sometimes a lot of energy turns into negativity and then all of a sudden, the game is 15, 20 minutes in, he’s not on the ball, and he’s trying so hard – no one would ever question his effort and the way he tries.

“When he’s watching the game, he’s almost a connoisseur of GAA. He watches everything and he’s watching where the break is. I spoke to him about that, funny enough, and he’s a brilliant finisher.

“He’s the one player who wants to get goals. He loves goals. He loves rattling the net. I’m thrilled for him. He’s a great young fella, a top-class lad, and I’m thrilled for him.”