McKeogh: ‘We just about held out’

Jubilant Raharney manger Brendan McKeogh cut a happy figure when he spoke to the assembled media in TEG Cusack Park this afternoon after his troops had edged out pre-match favourites Castletown-Geoghegan in a riveting Westmeath senior hurling championship final.

“I am more than happy, sure how could you not be happy?,” he stated at the outset, “Castletown really brought it to us in the second half, but our boys were fantastic, every single one of them. All year, not one of them ever let us down. They really gave it everything.

“I’m so happy for those lads and for everyone in Raharney, and everybody who put time into those boys, from under 7, 8, 9, 10 up. I knew there was fair hunger in us.”

He continued: “We were three or four weeks waiting for the final and you’re wondering, ‘will be get a bit rusty?’, but I think that every game this year we brought a little bit more to the table.

“It’s a credit to the boys all they went through with Covid. We sent them out hellish workouts and lads sent back videos of themselves doing them. You get what you deserve out of this.

“When you put the work in, it’s your destiny to get there. When you step out there on the pitch, whoever is willing to work the hardest is going to come out on top.

“I knew what Castletown’s game plan was going to be and I knew Pat (O’Brien) would come with a really well-prepared team. I knew we were going to need to have our boys at a level.

“We had to get out in front and win the ball, and use it ourselves efficiently. And I think we did that.”

He was asked about the displays of scorer-in-chief Killian Doyle and goalkeeper Aaron McHugh. He replied: “God may have given him the gift, but when Killian came back from England he had a long road in front of him. He went even further than we wanted him.

“As for Aaron McHugh, he absolutely gave it everything. Goalies are not that fond of physical training, but that man was prepared to do it.

“Donie Carey did the physical training and the boys loved him. The boys loved him and I don’t know why, as he did nothing only torture them! I have a seriously solid management team. A lot of our lads have experienced a lot of hurt and I said to them the other day, ‘you need to channel all that hurt and use it on Sunday’.”

When he was asked to look ahead to the Leinster club championship first round against the Dublin champions, the winning Deelside bainisteoir responded: “We’ll give it a good wallop tonight and see what the craic is then.

“We had to jump today’s fence first. I didn’t like to look at the fence ahead till we jumped the first one.”