Tubber joint captains set sights on historic first championship win over Clara

DURING an extended stay at senior level from 2006 up to the middle of the 2015s, Tubber performed with great spirit, taking some big scalps and commanding the utmost of respect. They have, however, never beaten Clara in the championship and that is a statistic they are aiming to remedy in Sunday's senior “B” final in O'Connor Park.

Tubber go into the final after a brilliant display against Ballycumber in the semi-final and while their joint captains, Ronan Farrell and Lee Colgan know that they are underdogs, they are hoping they can pull off a shock win.

You must be delighted with the way things have gone?

Ronan Farrell: “Yes a final was the aim at the start of the year. We said we would take the league game by game and we ended up winning it. It gave us a bit of momentum and the aim was always to make the championship final. We always wanted to avoid Clara on the way, they are a massive team and now we are in the final.”

Lee Colgan: “We targeted the league to give us a bit of momentum and the winning feeling coming into championship. Obviously the first round against Walsh Island, we didn't live up to expectations and fell short. We looked at ourselves and have knuckled down since then well. It's great to get back to a final. It is our third one in six years and we are hoping, although Clara are red hot favourites and rightly so. They are after coming down from senior. We are hoping that if we can perform to the best of our ability, we can give anyone a game.”

How big of a wake up call was the first round defeat by Walsh Island?

Ronan Farrell: “Walsh Island have always been a bogey team for us, it is always a tight battle. Going into it, we always fancy ourselves and we nearly always let ourselves down. On that day, we were missing a few lads and kicked eighteen wides. It was a kick in the behind we needed and since then, things have been absolutely brilliant. It could have been a blessing in disguise.”

Lee Colgan: “We are hoping it was a blessing in disguise. It was one of those days where we didn't perform and we have no excuses. We had enough on the day to have won it. We had a chat among ourselves after it to see where we want to go and since then, things have really kicked on. Lads have knuckled down and training has been a lot better.”

It can be a peculiar championship and Tubber have shown that with that Walsh Island game and then Ballycumber in the semi-final which is the best I have seen them playing in a long number of years?

Ronan Farrell: “It is a long time since we played that well. I remember playing Bracknagh in a quarter-final three years ago. We thought it was 50/50 coming in and like Ballycumber, we blew them out of the water. It is a funny championship but it is great to have senior “B”. It is very competitive and there are very exciting games to watch. Touch wood there will be one more brilliant game. We just clicked on the day and showed the damage we can do. We changed our tactics this year and showed that we can block out teams. We kept Ballycumber to five points, to do that to any team and our forwards scored 1-17. We had 10/12 wides as well so it shows the damage we can do. There is an extra gear in there, if we can find it as well.”

Lee Colgan: “There is no game you would look at and say we will target that and win it. Every game is competitive. I know the Ballycumber game, we were really tuned in and it is what we can do when we are really clued in. The goal was to target Clara really because we knew they would be favourites after coming down.”

Tubber could have scored a lot more against Ballycumber?
Lee Colgan: “We know we have the forwards to punish any team. It was just getting the right supply into them. In fairness, Ballycumber is the best I have seen our forwards work. Every time we looked up coming out with the ball, there was someone moving. There is so much pace there. On our day, we fancy ourselves against anyone.”

The spread of scores and the fact that ye weren't reliant on Bernard Allen must have been pleasing?

Ronan Farrell: “That is what we are taking out of it. In previous years, we would be relying on Bernard to score nine or ten points a game and if he didn't score them, we were struggling. Lads have matured, got that bit older and probably that bit more concentrating on football, dedicated this year than previous years. We do have four or five lads who can score heavy in any game and we have three lads who have come out of minor and that is a massive help. One of them, Eoin Murphy is starting corner forward and he can score.”

How big of a help is the return of Ciaran McManus?

Lee Colgan: “It is great. The man is a wealth of experience. Even in training in years gone by when he was missing, if there was a dip, it dipped. Now Ciaran has the standards and if it dips he tells you and that it needs to come back up. The man has so much experience and there is drive in him. He is 45 years of age and still running most of us around the place here. It is great to have him back.”

Ronan Farrell: “We grew up fantasising over Ciaran McManus as a footballer. He used to visit us in the primary schools with the Aussie Rules and Offaly and it is great to be playing with him. It would be a dream come true for us to win something with him and for him as well.”

Tubber have been very close to winning this championship in recent years?

Ronan Farrell: “This is our third final and the competition is out six years. We were in three semi-finals as well. A fun fact, every year, the team we lost to has won the championship. That shows how close we are. We only lost to Durrow by a point last year and should have won it and here they are competing in senior A. It gives us a bit of belief that we are not too far away on our day.”

It is generally a wide open championship?

Lee Colgan: “Absolutely. Going into the Ballycumber game, they were favourites and rightly so. They were after coming off a big win against Pullough. We just knew it was a local derby and we had to be on our game. We went back to the Durrow game the year before, we lost by a point and we were still hurting from that. We used that to drive us us, we didn't want to experience that again.”

What is the desire like in Tubber to get back senior?
Ronan Farrell: “The club is mad to get back up there. We are a little village but it is GAA mad. I remember us winning the intermediate in 2006. We were only twelve at the time and ever since that, it was football, football. I remember going to the Leinster final that time and going up senior. When Tubber were senior, on their day, they could cause a shock. I remember beating Ferbane, beating Tullamore. We want to get back there.”

Clara have been favourites since day one but Tubber have a good outside chance?

Ronan Farrell: “Hopefully we do but we know the task ahead of us. Clara have come down and two years ago they were in the semi-final. Four or five years ago, they were in the final. We are playing against the Brady's, Giller (Graham Guilfoyle), all those boys who have senior titles. Graham Guilfoyle has played with Offaly, Scott Brady. Carl Stewart and Colm Doyle play with Offaly. They have three All-Ireland U-20 champions and an array of talent. We are under no illusions. If we bring our A game on the day, we will be a game for anyone but it will be an uphill task. We have never beaten Clara in the championship. There have been times when we have been close and they beat us by a point but we have never got over the line. Hopefully we will get over the line.”

Lee Colgan: “There is fierce rivalry between us and Clara and we know each other very well.”