McGrath hopes to leave U-21 on a high

THERE is no match a young hurler would like to play more than one against Tipperary in Cusack Park. That’s the view of Clare U-21 hurling captain Conor McGrath, speaking as Clare continued their preparations for next Wednesday’s provincial U-21 hurling final in which Clare will face the Premier County.

THERE is no match a young hurler would like to play more than one against Tipperary in Cusack Park. That’s the view of Clare U-21 hurling captain Conor McGrath, speaking as Clare continued their preparations for next Wednesday’s provincial U-21 hurling final in which Clare will face the Premier County.
“Everyone is looking forward to the game and we are trying to prepare as best we can for the match,” McGrath said. “This game holds a lot of importance. The minors lost the provincial final and the seniors are out of the championship, so it’s important that we put in as big a performance as we can. We will be hoping to win the title here at home in Cusack Park,” the Cratloe man said.
“There are a lot of young players coming through. Clare have won the last two Munster minor titles but it’s difficult to bring that to the next level. Many of the minors of the past two or three years are established at adult level at this stage.
“They are all great hurlers and hopefully they will continue to do as well as they did at minor level. Twenty-one-year-olds like myself feel old among them,” said the Clare skipper.
A member of the Clare squad who made the breakthrough in 2009, winning the provincial and national title at this level for the first and only time, McGrath said, “It will be strange to be leaving the underage ranks. It would be brilliant to leave on a high and that is what I hope we will do on Wednesday.”
Does the fact that Tipperary are chasing the grand slam of provincial titles, as they have already won the minor, intermediate and senior titles, put any extra pressure on Clare?
“That’s for them to deal with and it has nothing to do for us. It wouldn’t be discussed here,” he replied.
According to the Cratloe player, “There is no better place to play than in Cusack Park in front of a big crowd. Look at the atmosphere that was here four years ago when the counties clashed and again for the Dublin game a few weeks ago. There is such a special atmosphere here.”
Does playing in front of such a big home crowd put extra pressure on the team? “There is no extra pressure. In fact, the crowd can give you a lift like in the Dublin game and I hope the crowd will get behind us,” he said
According to McGrath, “This is a great competition. The knock-out structure is brilliant and the fact that it’s played on a home and away basis adds to the excitement.
“It’s time to add to the win we had a few years ago. People thought then that we would win the next one or two but things didn’t pan out like that. We lost to them in the final two years ago in Thurles.
“This will be a 50-50 game that will generate a great atmosphere and hopefully we will come out on the right side of the result,” he concluded.