Tooreen look to be kings of the Castle

Tooreen manager Ray Larkin. Picture: David Farrell Photography
All roads lead to Tullamore as Cork and Munster champions Castlelyons stand in Tooreen’s way of a second consecutive All-Ireland club intermediate hurling final.
Any concerns that the heartbreaking defeat to Monaleen back in January has inflicted a fatal psychological blow are well and truly unfounded as Tooreen have bounced back brilliantly to stand an hour away from a return to Croke Park next month.
For Tooreen manager Ray Larkin, it has been the most special run to date and in a full circle moment, the side beat Ballinderreen once more to win another Connacht title, just like they did with their breakthrough in 2017.
“I've been involved for the last six, seven years but for me this year has been the most sweetest one of all. There's a lot to talk about Ballyhaunis, that was the first obstacle but there was a lot of talk about Four Roads and how well they were going in the Roscommon championship and how they were out to get us. But we got over them and I suppose they were the hullabaloo with the London game not going ahead.
“But the Ballinderreen game I think that's one of the finest games of hurling we have ever played like. Everything we planned for went well, we worked a lot, we did a lot of stats on Ballinderreen and we kind of knew what the game plan was and everything went well for us.
“At the very end there with the 21, Bobby saved it and they were over for a point but apart from that, our lads have tipped along there and there’s a great experience in the panel. They took it easy and we were four points down but we didn't really panic, four points in a hurling game is nothing. “But the Ballinderreen game, beating them back in 2017 and people saying it was just a fluke as they got a man's sent off in the first half. I think this year they were coming out there saying, well, let's right the wrong of 2017. They didn't want to be the only team in Galway that got beat twice. We worked hard and back again now in the semi-final. We’re looking forward to it now.” Tooreen have a fully fit squad to chose from, with Fergal Boland and John Cassidy having made full recoveries from respective injuries. Although Cathal Freeman has left for Australia, the squad is arguably its strongest to date and young players such as Conal Hession have made the breakthrough.
For Larkin, it makes picking a starting 15 a very tough job.
“I suppose that's the hardest part. When everybody's fit it's going to be a hard team to pick. We just need to pick a team that we've done all year, get match ups right. Sometimes, some players lose out not because they're not playing well, maybe that someone might be more suitable.
“Cathal Freeman is gone but when you look at last year's All-Ireland's final, Kenny Feeney, Brian Morley, John Cassidy and Conal Hession weren’t there but they're all back in this year.
“Conal is a great find. He couldn't make the team last year. We were trying him up at forwards last year, this year he's corner back now with Oisin Greally going up the forwards. We can bring Oisin back to corner back or wing back “We can tweak them around a bit without weakening the team. Sean Regan is back after football so he's putting pressure on as well. The lads are in a good place, they're really happy, they're happy to get back here again, but they don't want to be disappointed again like they were last year.” That player flexibility has become a staple of modern hurling.
“It's the way the modern game has gone now. You can see a corner back or a wing back getting up and scoring points. The way the game has gone now, some teams just leave two inside and bring out the third man as an extra man midfield. We've tried to improve our game as well, so the team has to be flexible and adaptable as well. Sometimes you might find a corner forward that could be very lively and it mightn’t suit some other fellas, you might have to match them up with someone to counteract what's going on.” They will perhaps face their stiffest challenge to date in the shape of Castlelyons, who have been transformed under the tutelage of Noel Furling. A devastating first-half saw them beat Corofin of Clare in the Munster final, with Anthony Spillane hitting 3-2 from play.
Combined with Cork senior hurler such as Colm Barry and Niall O’Leary, Larkin knows Tooreen have a battle on their hands but he believes Tooreen have the game to take them down.
“We were down watching (Castletroy). It was kind of a funny old game. If they were to look at our game against Ballyhaunis, they'd say, ‘Jesus, we're probably weren’t up to much’.
“We've looked at them as well so we're just trying to draw up a pattern now to see what they do.
They were saying it was over at half time. They were 12 points up at half time and even second half, when Corofin came out, they seemed to be a better team. I suppose they threw off the shackles, they had nothing to lose and they brought it back the six.
“When they ran at Castlelyons, they were vulnerable in spots like and I suppose that's our game, our running game, so if we can keep going that and prevent the goals Anthony Spillane got. He got good ball into him so if we can stop that, we hope we won't be too far away.”