Minor boss Connolly upbeat despite narrow loss to Kilkenny
REVIEW: LEINSTER MHC
Daire Walsh
THEIR opening game of the Leinster Minor (U17) Hurling Championship may have ended in a 3-23 to 4-12 defeat to Kilkenny at Parnell Park on Sunday, but Dublin manager Mike Connolly was in an upbeat mood as he considered the challenges that lie ahead.
With just five minutes of normal time remaining in a curtain-raiser to the senior clash between the same counties, the Sky Blues found themselves on level terms (4-12 to 2-18).
It was at this point that Richie Mulrooney’s visitors discovered their ruthless streak, however – clocking 1-5 without reply in the closing moments.
MOVING
Though he views Kilkenny as the standard-bearers for underage hurling in the province, Connolly believes Dublin are moving in the right direction.
“We were certainly in the match. Kilkenny are recognised as the top team at this level at the moment. We’ve closeD the gap, I thought, considerably since late last summer.
“While it would have been good to win here in Parnell Park for the day that’s in it, I think that we certainly are a good bit further along the curve than we thought we were,” Connolly remarked after Sunday’s game.
“I’m not overly disappointed. I felt that an awful lot of younger players showed that they’re up to hurling at this level.
“The last couple of years the senior team has been in transition and a lot of people have been a bit down about that. But at these levels, we’ve kept going and we have as much potential as anyone out there across the country.”
One player who stepped up to the mark on the day was full-forward Luke Swan – who finished with an outstanding personal haul of 3-1.
When you consider the towering Castleknock star was playing U15 club hurling as recently as last October, it is remarkable how comfortable he looks on the inter-county scene.
Yet, with a number of the squad still eligible for this grade in 2019, Connolly is hoping the hurling fraternity will give them time to adjust to life at the top level.
“He’s (Swan) a great guy around the goal. People have got to remember what age these guys are. He’s still under-16, as are four or five guys that finished on the field today.
“People have to look at the bigger picture and the longer term, instead of getting over or under-excited about a given day.”
O’Moore Park will be Dublin’s port of call this Saturday (3.30) for a tricky away assignment against Laois, before they complete their Tier One group stage campaign at home to Wexford on May 27.
While he was delighted with the progress made at the weekend, Connolly accepts they need to get a win under their belts at the Portlaoise venue.
“Certainly, we need to be making another step next week. The approach is to take every week in isolation.
“Today was a reasonably big day.
“Nobody at 15 and a half, or 16 and a half, would have played in Parnell Park with 10,000 people in there. Not on the other side (Kilkenny) either, I suppose. Next week; we have to start getting ready for it,” Connolly added.