With six All Ireland’s, three All Stars and two Leinster club titles, Martin Comerford has done it all in the game so when he sounds emotional after a match you know it must be a special victory.
With his fingers and jersey stained with blood Comerford’s voice cracked at times in the aftermath of last Sunday’s victory over All Ireland Champions Ballyhale Shamrocks. As he spoke about overcoming what he called “a phenomenal team” he praised his teammates stating “ to able to beat such a brilliant team is a great honour and we’re over the moon with it”.
“I dunno about that I was gasping a lot through the game “ was Comerford’s reaction we put it to him that he his performance was as good as it’s ever been. The former Cats forward retired from the inter county stage in 2011, but at 37 seems as in love with the sport now as he was at the height of his black and amber days.
Pressure isn’t an issue for the man nicknamed “Gorta”. He insists that he has less pressure and expectancy on him these days and that’s something that he’s ok with. “It’s great to able to put on the socks and boots and go out and hurl I suppose when you get a bit older the pressure comes off and you can play with a bit more freedom”.
If there was pressure it didn’t show with the forward scoring three points from play and working incredibly hard during their 2-15 to 2-13 victory. It’s been a quiet few years for the Gaels who last won a county title in 2010 and Comerford admits they’ve underachieved since. “We’ve been poor since we last won it, we’ve limped out of the Championship on a local level and the players said at the start of the year we need to do something different and we needed to commit to it more maybe. Our commitment wasn’t the best over the last few years and or dedication wasn’t where it should be to cut the mustard with the likes of (the previous two winners) Ballyhale and Clara”.
No matter who makes the final it’s going to be a great event but this one has something added to it as Gaels centre back Brian Hogan could come up against his brother Keith who’s the Captain and centre forward with Clara who’ve reached the final for the third year running. It’s the second year in a row those two will collide with Clara and Keith coming out on top last year in the county quarter final.
In the aftermath of Sunday’s double header, another Kilkenny soldier Michael Fennelly cited fatigue and plain and simply being beaten by a better team on the day as contributing factors to Shamrocks reign ending defeat. After the game the All Ireland winning centre back also spoke to us about the end of the journey, for now, of this superb Ballyhale team. Speaking after a defeat is difficult for any sportsperson so we’re extremely grateful to Michael Fennelly who is a gent in victory or loss.
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
