John Horgan: Sars, Watergrasshill and Russell Rovers inspiring Cork hurling fans
Watergrasshill's Brendan Lehane controls the sliotar chased by Carey Faughs' Michael McVeigh. Picture: Moya Nolan
Having three Cork hurling clubs entering the big house on Jones' Road in the first month of a new year has to be viewed as a very significant achievement and a considerable shot in the arm for Cork hurling in general.
Prior to last weekend's three All-Ireland semi-finals, the thinking was that Watergrasshill and Russell Rovers would be too strong for the Ulster clubs that stood in their path but where the senior game involving Sarsfields and Slaughtneil was concerned, the belief was that it would go right to the wire.
In quite a few of the match previews, the Derry team got the nod, that being based on the fact that they had been on this All-Ireland trail before while it was Sars' first experience of being involved at this stage of the competition.
And as the hurling season goes deeper into the Winter the more difficult it can become to come out on the right side.
Pure and pretty hurling, the type of flamboyancy that we expect in the summer months is, for the most part, not going to be the case and a hard slog, a tough grind is required to get the result.
When Sarsfields defeated Ballygunner in the Munster final they produced some terrific passages of play, belted in a few quality goals and fired over some sublime points, it was their best performance of the entire season.
But it was a far different story in the impressive Newbridge Stadium last Sunday.
Every score had to be hard-earned, goal-scoring chances were a lot less and the shoulder had to be put to the pump a lot more.
A strong, physical presence was going to be needed and if you went behind by a couple of points as the Cork club did at an important juncture in the second half the heads could not go down and a quick response was needed. And that's exactly what transpired, Slaughtneil forging ahead by three points and looking the more likely winners.
But the Sars riposte was superb, five unanswered points was an illustration of the battle hardness that had been instilled into the players by the management.
Their energy in testing conditions was something we had not seen from a Cork club in this competition for quite some time.
This was certainly not a classic game of hurling but by God, it was compelling at the same time.
Both teams went at it hammer and tongs, never more than a couple of points separated them and the goal that might have changed the complexion of matters never arrived.
The Derry and Ulster champions did have a glorious chance of one at the death, one that if it had been converted would have won the match but it wasn't taken and, as they say, the rest is history.
Not a green flag was raised in both semi-finals, the scorelines in both games were almost identical and Na Fianna's win over Loughrea was equally hard-earned.
But in December that is what you are likely to get, it's all about getting over that end line and subsequently preparing for the biggest game of your hurling life with your club in a month.
The losing team in a tight game will always have regrets, it will take some time for Slaughtneil to recover from the defeat.
That goal chance right at the end will haunt the folk up north, they will reflect on a few very scoreable missed frees too in the first half. Sars missed a couple as well but that's the nature of every game.
The Sars management had a big call to make when selecting their starting 15. Would Shane O'Regan get the nod after his heroics in Thurles or would he be held in reserve again until the inevitable call came? The latter was the case, O'Regan replacing James Sweeney after 40 minutes or so.
This was there was no massive scoring return from him this time but in a game where every point was worth its weight in gold, he split the posts with a hugely important score and it was a point game in the end.
Aaron Myers was one of the Sarsfields' heroes last Sunday. It was an important game for him after being withdrawn against Ballygunner and he came up trumps with a return of five points, three from open play, the first one after just a few seconds had elapsed which must have been a huge boost to his confidence.
A couple of his scores were beauties and this was a day when he delivered big time.
In the Kildare town last Sunday there was a continuation of that fine form, a quartet of points from play was another example of what this player is capable of.
Myers and himself shared half of the Sars tally and that took some doing.
A team's depth in resources is key in the type of game that we witnessed and Liam Healy came on to secure another big point Cathal McCarthy had a brace of points in his bag on the way back to Riverstown and his form since his return from injury continues on an upward trajectory.
Semi-finals are all about winning, the result is the only thing that matters and now Sars can and will focus very quickly on what is going to be one of the biggest days in their history.
So much has happened in Riverstown over the past year or two, events that are well documented but the cause has always endured.
Sarsfields is very much a family-orientated club, families past and present who have never shied away from the hard work that is required to keep the show on the road, so many greats representing the club.
For Russell Rovers, in particular, it's a phenomenal achievement to be back again in another All-Ireland final just a few short years since losing out the last time.
One wonders what the odds would have been on three Cork clubs' participation in the three finals. Well, that has come to pass now and it's all been down to hard work on and off the field.
Back to Sarsfields. How magnificently they have responded to that county final loss to Imokilly to be where they are now.
These are the days of their hurling lives.
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