Donohoe determined to right Leinster final wrongs
Conor Donohoe of Dublin poses for a portrait with the Liam MacCarthy cup during the national launch of the GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship at Spanish Point in Clare. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile.
By John Harrington
It was a painful lesson, but Dublin defender Conor Donohoe believes the chastening defeat to Kilkenny in the Leinster hurling final will ultimately stand to him and his team-mates.
Nothing went right for them on a day when they were comprehensively out-hurled, but he’s hopeful they can right some wrongs when they play Cork in Saturday’s All-Ireland SHC quarter-final.
“Gutted would be an understatement,” says Donohoe of the Leinster Final. “We expect more from ourselves and just didn't do it on the day.
“Stuff went wrong that wouldn't normally go wrong. Sometimes it's about getting experience, and this is a very young group of players.
“There's a lot of lads who were playing in their first Leinster Final and we'll definitely learn from it. There's no two ways about that.
“We wanted to win that Leinster Final so it was obviously very disappointing. We have to move on quickly though, we can't afford to feel sorry for ourselves.
“Mistakes happen and we're not going to scold anyone for making mistakes. They happen and we just have to rally around each other. That's the only way you can get it back.”
Donohoe is right to say that this is a young Dublin team. 20 of the 37 players named on their championship panel have played at this level for three years or less.
Conor Donohoe of Dublin in action against Eoin Cody, left, and TJ Reid of Kilkenny during the Leinster GAA Hurling Senior Championship final match between Dublin and Kilkenny at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
Because so many of have come through together at the same time they’ve developed a strong bond quickly, and Donohoe expects that camaraderie to fuel their fire for Saturday’s showdown with the Rebels.
“Anyone on the inside would really notice a shift, it’s a really tight group now,” he says. “Not saying it hasn't been previously, but the last 18 months has really brought us together.
“Micheal and the lads are doing a mighty job. The Leinster Final was just a hiccup. We'll get over it. It's important that we regroup.
“That bond you're talking about, we have that. I wouldn't be too concerned shying away from standing up. There's a hell of a lot of leaders in that group, not just one or two, which is big for us because we are a young group.
“There's a lot of inexperienced lads who are getting big games in now and that's what we want, we're in the knock-out stages of the All-Ireland championship.
“We know the trajectory that we've been going on this year. Obviously we started off a bit slowly in the League but we've just gotten better and better every week.
“The Leinster Final was just a hiccup. We know we're well able to compete with these lads. Obviously it was disappointing but we're not too concerned.”