'Fantastic time to be around': Excitement builds ahead of SFC final
For manager Declan Nash he has guided the club further than they have ever gone in this championship as their scarcely believable rise from being a Junior ‘B’ club as recently as 2014 has more one step until they reach the summit of Limerick football
EXCITEMENT is reaching fever pitch as we are now just days away from Kildimo-Pallaskenry playing in their first ever Irish Wire Products Senior Football Championship final.
For manager Declan Nash he has guided the club further than they have ever gone in this championship as their scarcely believable rise from being a Junior ‘B’ club as recently as 2014 has more one step until they reach the summit of Limerick football.
“It's obviously a fantastic time to be around the place,” Nash said. “Lots of excitement building towards the final. It's just a case now of concentrating on doing what we have to do and hopefully taking that final step.”
With such a young side, most outsiders will anticipate this being the first final of many, but for all in the club, Sunday is the sole foucs.
“We've used 30 players this year so for a parish the size of Kildimo-Pallaskenry to have used 30 players in the Senior Football Championship, it's a fair statement to make. Obviously the (big name players) will get the headlines and rightly so, but five of the back six the last day are U21, two of them are minor.”
When talking about his players, “resilience” is the one word that keeps coming up as they have overcome an injury-hit campaign to be one of the final two teams left standing.
“In match and on game day the resilience is unmatched but also in preparation for games, they've got a wealth of experience around the club to look at,” he said.
“Cathal (Downes) just gives absolutely everything to his preparation from first thing in the morning to last thing at night.”
Kildimo-Pallaskenry are coming up against a side looking to make some history of their own on Sunday in Mick Neville Park as Fr Caseys look to bridge a 20-year gap since their last success.
“The first thing that stands out to you is they're undefeated,” said Nash on Sunday’s opposition. “They haven't lost a game all year, they've been in some really tough group games. Listen, they're a phenomenal football parish, some really big players across the field.
“It is surprising for everybody that it's 20 years since they've won it, but there's a lot of that underage success starting to come to the fore now.
“They're a young side, they're a really competitive side and they're a really, really good football side.
“We'll have to do everything in our power to try and get a result on final day.”