Managers View – Gregory O’Kane – Dunloy
By Brendan McTaggart
Gregory O’Kane is a man who as a player for Dunloy, became a legend in the Cuchullains folklore and as a manager he’s building something special in Pearse Park. Starved of winning the Volunteer Cup for what felt like a long eight years before their 2017 triumph, O’Kane has guided the Cuchullains to another final on Sunday.
To make the decider, the Cuchullains had some demons to lay to rest. Loughgiel ended their rein as county champions last year but Dunloy exacted revenge on the Shamrocks but O’Kane told us, they kept looking ahead with last year being far from their minds: “One it was good to win but two, it was good to get that performance for ourselves. As they say in any sport, you never look back. We didn’t. We kept looking forward and that performance against Loughgiel was reward for that. We just stayed focussed and concentrated on ourselves and ensuring we kept our performance levels up.
“Please God we get the breaks and looked after our hurling, the result went our way.”
12 months ago the Cuchullains were ambushed by Loughgiel in the semi-final as the Shamrocks took the game into the trenches and caught Dunloy off guard. O’Kane alluded to that fact but admitted they were ready for every possibility on the day: “That comes from maturity in the team and building more consistency. When we were asked the questions then nobody panicked. We kept our structure, we kept our game plan and we seen it out which was pleasing for us.
“Loughgiel have championship pedigree. You aren’t going to beat them in 30 or 35 minutes of hurling. You have to go to the wire and that was the most pleasing thing for us. We are maturing as a group and every week we learn a bit more. It was very pleasing we kept going to the end.
“It takes a period of time to build the athlete but these boys have matured. They’re getting bigger, stronger and faster and that’s the template now to play senior club hurling. If you’re not an athlete you’d struggle to play senior club hurling and these boys are kicking on. Every day and every week they’re growing. They grow as a team and please God on Sunday we’ll do the business.”
Loughgiel were still in the game and Liam Watson had chances to grab a dramatic equaliser. Dunloy ‘keeper Ryan Elliott rose to the occasion and O’Kane was thankful that his net minder did the business when it was required: “I thought the frees were harsh over the course of the match but look, Ryan done his job the same as all the other lads and that’s why he’s there thank God.”
Dunloy have had an extra week to prepare with Cushendall and St Johns going to a replay and O’Kane said his squad have taken full advantage of that time: “The Loughgiel game took plenty out of the squad both physically and mentally. It was nice to waken up on Monday morning knowing that we were back in a county final but that has been our goal all year.
“This team are young, they’re vibrant and they want to play in big games. Sunday’s no different. It’s a county final and we’re delighted to be back in it.”
On the Cushendall and St Johns game, O’Kane added: “Over the last number of years there’s been nothing between Cushendall and St Johns. St Johns came so close but Cushendall got the breaks to get over the line. Obviously there was a lot of controversy on the first day so St Johns will feel like they left it behind them but look, semi-finals are for winning and Cushendall got over the line.
“They’re (semi-finals) not going to be pretty at times but it’s all about getting over the line and that’s all that matters. Sunday’s the biggest day in the Antrim calendar, probably the Ulster calendar. We’re delighted to be in it.”
On what to expect on Sunday, the Dunloy manager continued: “It’ll be a typical Cushendall match with Neil McManus in the form of his life and Paddy McGill not far behind him. They’re two fantastic hurlers and will take some looking after. They have a huge backroom team that can look intimidating along the side lines and that’s something to contend with but they’re there on merit. They’ve been on the road from last year and we’re looking forward to the challenge. The best team on the day will win the championship and hopefully, please God that will be us on Sunday.”
Despite overseeing the Cuchullains drive for success, the Dunloy manager wasn’t interested in any personal accolades with a focus clearly on his team on the pitch and in the background: “At the end of the day we have 35 of a squad and Mickey (McClements), Paudie (Shivers), Chrissy McGilligan, Flump (Dominic Dillon), Kevy Martin and Eoin McNicholl. They’ve put as much effort into this as I have. It’s not about any individuals, its about everyman doing something to achieve that goal on Sunday evening.”