‘Obituary written’ but still there

Clare hurlers’ obituary was written a long time ago, yet the team is still om the hunt for the 2013 All-Ireland title, according to Davy Fitzgerald.
Davy has been amazed by the progress made by the team this year. “Nine of the lads are under 22 and they just amaze me. I thought it would take another year or two to get there,” the team boss.

“I am happy with the win and very proud of the boys. This team is about work ethic, hard work. All I can do is praise my boys,” he said.

“I suppose people around the country have taken to them because they are so young,” he added.

“Our obituary was written a long time ago, for all of us, and we are still there. In the Wexford game, we lost our way in a three-minute spell and we just didn’t have a chance to get it back. We lost it there for two or three minutes today”, the manager added

According to the manager “the response to the goals was a key part. We have talked about those situations and scenarios. In the Cork game we were fighting, people didn’t see it but we were fighting. We knew we fought it out, we just didn’t get the breaks. We got the breaks today. The championship is wide open”.

“Dublin and Limerick will probably be favourites going into it but you know there is very little between the teams. We are still there and we will give it everything we’ve got.

“These boys have exceeded my wildest expectations. We have a day out in Dublin and I am delighted to be part of it. I was coming down the road this morning, from the gym and driving to meet the boys. I saw the Clare flags and fellas togged out and it was the first time in a long time and it was great to see. We have a lot of genuine supporters, we have some who are on our back all the time, but 99% of our supporters are great. They were behind us today. Give the team a chance. We are hurling in the third week of August. A lot of people wouldn’t have thought we would be.”

Asked about their upcoming clash with Limerick, Fitzgerald said, “I have massive respect for what Limerick have done. My mother is a Limerick woman. The atmosphere after the Munster final was great.

“We know each other well. I don’t think there will be much in it. It will be some occasion, it will be something special. We will look forward to it. We will be going in as underdogs. We will be fighting hard. We have a bunch of fighters there”.