Clement Cunniffe lost for words after dramatic finish sees Carrick snatch victory

“I don’t know what to say,” is probably the most common reaction of anyone who witnessed Sunday’s dramatic Senior Hurling Final but for a man who you’d think would have seen it all at this stage, Clement Cunniffe truly was lost for words to describe Carrick’s victory!

Asked to reflect on the dramatic finale, Clement said “It wasn’t looking good. I was missing a few frees there towards the end and we got out of jail to be honest, that’s all I can say. The momentum seemed to be with Manor in the second half.

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“I don’t know what to say, we just put the heads down. Enda got the ball, put the head down, got the ball to Donal and he gave it to Colm who put it in the back of the net and in fairness to Peter, he had been saving them all day, making dramatic saves.”

One of Peter Poniard’s dramatic saves came at the expense of Clement in the first half with the veteran hurling joking “A hail Mary one altogether!” before adding “I suppose with the ones he was saving, he probably had to let one in, you know that sort of way.”

For a man who has lost track of the amount of hurling titles he has won, joking “I don’t know if I can count that far”, Clement clearly savoured Sunday’s victory: “I’ll take it because down through the years, the ones you win, the ones you lose, you take it if it goes your way, you need a bit of luck at the end of the day.”

Looking back on the game, Clement felt that Cluainin seemed to be in control: “They were picking up a lot of ball around their halfback line and when it went upfront for them, it seemed to stick more scores a bit easier. 

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“We found it harder to get scores and saying that, Peter Poniard made a few big saves to stop us and maybe if some of them went in, it would have been a bit different. Just delighted, in a bit of shock.”

Ironically, Clement is working in Manorhamilton at the moment but is very much enjoying his hurling: “Olcan gave me a ring to go back, I am enjoying it. I never really stopped but it is great to be out playing. I’m 39, I’ll be 40 in February and just great to be out trying to keep the fitness up and tipping away. There is never a match or a training session you don’t enjoy.”