Clonduff had plenty of time to let their championship triumph sink in

AFTER ending their long drought for a Down Senior Championship title, Clonduff got plenty of time to soak it up. To sit back and enjoy the fruits of their hard labour. Ulster could wait.

That was three weeks ago and they whole heartedly enjoyed the much deserved celebrations before turning their attentions to the provincials and the Tyrone champions.

Edendork are their first opponents and the Red Hand representatives, who won their first ever county title, only had eight days to prepare for their shot at Ulster.

“We were lucky enough because we were able to enjoy it for a few days and then blow the cobwebs off whenever we got back to training on the Friday night so time wise it worked out alright for us,” said Clonduff’s joint captain Charlie Carr.

It wasn’t one magical moment that made everything click this year, but seasons of heartache and despair that made their victory in the Mourne County all the sweeter.

“Downpatrick were first up and a potential banana skin but we got the job done and then from there the performances really picked up,” Carr explained.

“We had the Burren game then and that win gave us a week’s break before the quarter-final against Mayobridge and that was a really good performance for the full 60 minutes.

“The Carryduff game (semi-final), we went off the boil completely and it took the last six or seven minutes to steal it in the end.

“The Mayobridge game showed that when we play well, we are good but the Carryduff game was probably more satisfying because when the chips were down, we were able to grab the game by the scruff of the neck and do enough to win in.

“We were close the last few years without getting to the final. We were in semi-finals and quarter-finals and suffered narrow defeats but when we did win it, the scenes afterwards is hard to describe.”

Even throughout the league, when they weren’t winning games, they were putting in good performances and Gearoid Adams’ men had enough there to build on come the business end of the season.

“It’s hard to really put your finger on what was different this time because the same group have battered on these last couple of years,” Carr, son of Down legend Ross, continued.

“We’ve been close but we weren’t clinical enough and a couple of decisions maybe went against us. This year, we had a decent enough league campaign, we won the first four games and then we were a wee bit inconsistent after that.

“We picked up a few wins and were second in the table but eventually trailed off into fourth I think. The performances were good and even when we were losing, we weren’t getting beat by big margins.

“We got beat by a point or two here and there in games that could have gone either way but come the championship there was a real focus on the job we had to do.”

Carr and Clonduff certainly won’t be underestimating the challenge they face at Páirc Esler and they are well aware of the threats that Edendork pose.

They have 2021 All-Ireland winners Niall Morgan, Darren McCurry and Conn Kilpatrick in their ranks as well as Tyrone defender Ben Cullen. Kilpatrick also picked up an All-Star award this season for his efforts in the red and white.

“I know it’s their first ever win but in a way it feels like our first ever. I know it’s not, it’s our tenth championship but I can’t remember the last one.

“A couple of the older boys maybe remember snippets but for us and probably the community in general, for a completely new generation, it feels like a new one.

“We’re probably coming into the game in a similar enough position where Edendork will be thinking it’s a good year to get the Down champions and they’ve come through two big games with Errigal Ciaran.

“But when you have players like Edendork have, (Niall) Morgan (Conn) Kilpatrick, (Darren) McCurry, Ben Cullen, they’re not just good club players, you’re talking about men with All-Ireland medals and All-Stars.

“Any team with boys of that calibre are a massive threat and I’d say they are going into it really fancying their chances.”