Did I wake up this morning in a parallel universe or will a Cork side genuinely be contesting the AIB Munster Club SHC final on November 20?
What’s more, Ballyea of Clare, never to be seen on provincial final-day at senior level before, will be Glen Rovers’ opponents, writes Peter McNamara.
The world’s gone mad. However, refreshingly so.
The admiration I have for both of these club teams in the circumstances knows no bounds, particularly Ballyea.
And here’s why. I have always scoffed at the attitude of too many club sides that win a county title and think their world could not be any more complete.
It can be. Try winning the provincial and national titles available to you thereafter before resting on your laurels.
It’s a pet hate of mine when I hear club people say: ‘We’re county champions. We’ve made it’.
Newsflash: You haven’t. The whole point of taking part in your county championship in the first instance should be to orchestrate an avenue to a Croke Park dressing room on St Patrick’s Day. End of.
After all, would you really set your sights low in your personal life?
Like, if you fancied this girl or man and you had a good first night out together, would you not bother contacting her or him thereafter to meet her or him again? What? You had one brilliant first date and now you’re done? Oh, okay.
How about embracing the next dates you have with destiny and take your provincial championship truly seriously?
If I had a euro for every time I heard of club personnel quietly satisfied with county title success I’d be presently residing in the Seychelles. Permanently.
Go hammer and tongs at winning the second phase of a potentially career-defining campaign. And then, at least, if you fall short, you died with your boots on really trying.
Clubs like Ballyea should be applauded for refusing to smoke the proverbial cigar after landing the Clare SHC silverware for the first time in their history.
Instead, they dismissed pre-match talk of an easy ride for Thurles Sarsfields by leaving them flat on the canvas after pulsating periods of regulation- and extra-time. Bravo.
For the record, anybody that watched Thurles engineer their path to the last four of the Munster series by beating Ballygunner would hardly have made them the 1/4 shots they were to leave Ennis victorious.
Thurles were too reliant on Pádraic Maher last Sunday week in general play, far too reliant and Ballyea exploited their shortcomings more recently.
By all accounts, that theory on Maher was franked at Cusack Park as the visitors looked to the All-Star half-back simply too much.
How the form of this particular championship is shaping up is difficult to assess.
Yet, it might be a plus for Glen that Fergal Hegarty’s team won an epic clash with Thurles as Sarsfields were expected to lift the provincial trophy as soon as they retained their Tipperary SHC crown.
The focus, predominately, will now shift to Ballyea and how they will handle contesting the provincial final for the first time as the most marginal of favourites in the eyes of some commentators.
In contrast, Glen boss Richie Kelleher will have a bigger issue to contend with between now and the decider.
How exactly does an opposing manager solve a problem like Tony Kelly?
Can any manager solve that particular puzzle at all, in fact?
You might have greater success breaking into an FBI server than devising a plan to counteract Kelly.
Kelleher will attest it’s a challenge he will relish. However, that conundrum, in itself, is daunting.
True, he is merely one man. But he’s some man for one man at that.
You scan through Glen’s chosen starting 15 and you struggle to see any potential man-marker capable of, at least, breaking even with Ballyea’s star midfielder.
And, to be fair to the northsiders of Cork city, there’s no shame in that.
After all, many inter-county teams have attempted to contain Kelly and failed miserably.
Equally, Hegarty will ponder how best to ensure Patrick Horgan’s influence is as close to minimal as possible.
Again, easier said than achieved. Yet, Ballyea’s obvious starting point will be their levels of discipline.
Kelly did record 1-4 of his 1-10 on Sunday from placed balls. However, he also nailed six shots in open play while skipping around the middle-third.
Horgan, in contrast, fired over six of his eight scores from frees.
Therefore, is it fairer to suggest denying Horgan opportunities from placed balls will be of even greater benefit to Ballyea than the opposite being said of Kelly?
Additionally, Kelly is bound to be more threatening in open play than Horgan is likely to be primarily due to the positioning of the two players.
If you watch enough club matches you will appreciate the majority of play is contested in the middle-third.
Unless, of course, Kelleher withdraws Horgan further still from his deep-lying centre-forward role in order for the sharpshooter to cement his authority on proceedings as much as Kelly is likely to given the latter will be stationed there in the first place.
Another intriguing subplot should be the duel between Stephen McDonnell at full-back for Glen and Ballyea full-forward Gary Brennan.
The front-line attacker’s aerial presence and power could cause McDonnell plenty of problems.
Still, McDonnell is a seasoned inter-county operator and should be up to the task of curbing Brennan’s developing confidence.
It took Glen just the four decades to get back to the Munster final however, their progression, from a Leeside hurling perspective, is vitally important.
Whether they seize the day or not remains to be seen.
However, at least, stared down by adversity in the Gaelic Grounds on Sunday against Patrickswell, they didn’t fluff their lines like past representatives from Leeside have including, obviously, themselves last year.
Yet, they banished those demons in Limerick and now further silverware is on the horizon.
Kelly and co, a formidable force, stand in their way, however.
The tactical nous of both Hegarty and Kelleher will be severely tested on final-day.
