As reigning champions Erin’s Own prepare to face neighbours, Casement’s Portglenone in Sundays SFC Final at Corrigan, Cargin’s long serving defender, James Laverty shares his thoughts on the game with Paddy McIlwaine from the Saffron Gael.
Paddy: James how long have you been playing senior football for Cargin.
James: This will be my 16th year playing Senior football for Cargin. I made my Senior debut in 2009 when I was 17
Paddy: What honour have you won with Erin’s Own
James: I’ve won 7 Senior football championships and 3 U21 Football championships with Cargin.
Paddy: How long did you play for the County.
James: I played Senior for the county for 11 years. Unfortunately no honours but it was always my ambition to play for Antrim and it was a great honour to play for my county.
Paddy: Cargin are going for three in a row on Sunday has that been talked about in the weeks leading up to the final.
James: No there’s been no talk of it. Previous championship wins will have no bearing on Sundays result so we are just focussed on bringing the McNamee back to Cargin.
Paddy: Ronan Devlin took over from Damien Cassidy and the transition from trainer to manager seems to have run smoothly. Tell me about Ronan, Fabian Muldoon, JC and Kevin Doyle and the part they have played in that transition.
James: Damien did a fantastic job with us and was always going to be a tough act to follow. The transition was helped as Ronan, JC and Kevin were all involved with the club/team with Damien. Fabian added a new voice to the team and has been hugely influential in guiding the team back to another final. The amount of work these men put in behind the scenes is incredible and probably isn’t appreciated enough. They leave no stone unturned and have given us every opportunity to push ourselves further.
Paddy: Cargin face Portglenone in Sunday’s final. A new opponent for you but a team you will never the less be familiar with. Tell me your thoughts on Portglenone and the players you will have to contain if you are to win?
James: There has never been much between ourselves and Portglenone and we expect Sunday to be no different. I’ve played with a number of them over the years with the county and they always produce quality players. The likes of Niall Delargy, Dermot McAlease, Niall McKeever and Oisin Doherty will cause any team problems. Portglenone are a young ambitious team and have proven this year they can step up when required. We fully expect to come up against our toughest test this year on Sunday.
Paddy: Who are the players who have stood out for you this year and what new players have emerged to stake a claim for a regular place in the side?
James: We’re very fortunate as a club to have a lot of young talent coming through. I could name a whole bunch of players putting their hand up for a starting place so hopefully Sunday we’ll see a few of them make their mark on the game.
Paddy: Add anything else you feel is relevant and your thoughts on how you think the game will go and what will be the factors that might influence it.
James: I think it’s fantastic for both clubs to reach this stage of the championship. Portglenone and ourselves have made massive strides both on and off the pitch in developing the clubs and community. Hopefully on Sunday both teams can go out and put on a great final.
