The Glen’s Ethan Doherty celebrates the stoppage-time goal that secured him a place in Sunday’s final.
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All-Ireland Club Football Final – The Glen vs St Bridget’s |
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venue: croke park, dublin date: Sunday, January 21st Throw in: 15:30 GMT |
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coverage: You can watch live on the BBC Sounds, BBC Radio Foyle and BBC Sport websites and apps.Live text updates, reports and reactions are also available on the BBC Sport website and app |
Glen manager Malachy O’Rourke said it would take a “huge effort” from his side to beat St Bridget’s in the All-Ireland club football final.
The Derry champions will be aiming to improve on last year’s result when they take on Roscommon at Croke Park.
“We have to refocus and try to put in a really good performance,” O’Rourke said ahead of Sunday’s final.
“It’s a 50-50 game and what we did in the past won’t help us now. We have a lot of faith in our players.”
“We have a lot of confidence in them and so far they have delivered on everything we have asked of them. We hope to be open again on Sunday.”
Mr O’Rourke, a former Monaghan and Fermanagh county manager, has transformed the Glen from a team that had never won a county title to a team that appeared in their second successive All-Ireland final.
Last year, the Ulster champions lost to Kilmacud Crokes in Croke Park’s marquee fixture, but are plotting their way back to the decider after narrowly ousting the defending champions in the last four stage.
“It was a tough season. It’s been a long time since we lost in last year’s final, but after rebuilding the team last year and stopping, this year we’ve been working on every match. It’s great to be back in the same place again. happy” .
“Once we first started working with them, we realized there was so much talent out there.
“Talent alone won’t win anything, but with everyone working really hard and the whole panel growing together, we’re going to get stronger and stronger and hopefully win some trophies in the process. It’s done.
“St Brigid look fresh and fit, young, very good on the ball, have so many qualities and Croke Park will probably suit them as well.
“There is no doubt that this will require a lot of effort on our part, but we cannot expect much more than that at this stage.”
“An experience unlike any other”
O’Rourke hopes the experience of playing on the big stage at Croke Park 12 months ago will help his players prepare for their clash with the Connacht champions.
“I hope this experience stays with the players. The nature of the day and playing at Croke Park is different. It’s definitely a slightly different experience.”
“However, both teams are competing to the best of their abilities, so all that remains is their performance on the day.
“You can talk all you want about last year, but there’s no emotion involved in football at this level. You just have to come forward on the day.”
Conor Glass celebrates All-Ireland semi-final win against Kilmacud Crokes
increase momentum
Glen built a comfortable lead in foggy weather in the semi-final against Kilmacud, but ultimately won by a narrow one-point margin.
“I hope that gives us momentum.” [beating the champions]After losing last year, it was a long journey to try again at Kilmacud.
“But for us, we looked at it like it was another game. We just prepared like any other game.
“I couldn’t get distracted by thoughts of revenge or anything like that, I knew I needed a really good performance.
“We played well for the majority of the game in difficult conditions, but towards the end things started to deteriorate and I think we were lucky to hold on until the end, which allowed us to reach the final. However, St Brigid’s are a high-quality team as well.”