Sunday will pit two great rivals against each other yet again.
St. Mullins and Mount Leinster Rangers will go head-to head in the Carlow Senior Hurling Championship final.
It will be the sixth time in the last decade that the two sides will go up against each other in the decider.
In their most recent meeting in a final two years ago, St. Mullins were crowned champions after an exhilarating tie that ended in a one-point victory for Niall O’Donnell’s men.
O’Donnell will take charge of the side for this Sunday’s game as St. Mullins look to reclaim the crown that they lost to their fellow finalists in 2020.
And despite going into the game as underdogs, O’Donnell feels his side are confident ahead of the much-anticipated clash between Carlow’s biggest clubs.
“Are we confident? Yes, we are very confident that we can do it.
“We realise that they are very well drilled and that they have been very impressive all year, but they haven’t met a St. Mullins side in this form in the championship yet,” said O’Donnell.
Despite remaining assured of his team’s ability to put it up to Mount Leinster Rangers, O’Donnell acknowledged that the “ultimate test” awaits St. Mullins on Sunday afternoon.
He said: “We’re under no illusions that we have to put in a complete performance to have any chance of winning.
“We’ve spoken about that this week and the boys are prepared to go the whole way to try and get the win. But like any sport, it could come down to the bounce of the ball to decide where the trophy lies but I think it will be a tighter affair than people think it will be.”
The St. Mullins manager, who oversaw a 2-14 to 1-11 victory in last weekend’s semi-final against Bagenalstown Gaels as they reached the final for the first time since 2019, also discussed the preparations before tomorrow’s match.
“We are very well prepared. We’re a completely different team to what we were four years ago and we’re exactly where we want to be.”
O’Donnell elaborated on how the side have been training throughout a condensed championship.
“It has basically been a case of play a match at the weekend and then recover before looking towards the next game.
“From a players perspective that is great but personally I would prefer if the championship was extended so that players would be in a position to overcome minor injuries.”
O’Donnell also admitted that talisman Marty Kavanagh is in a race against time to be available for selection having struggled with an injury all week.
“I’ll be honest with you, Marty (Kavanagh) has been in trouble all week.
“He hasn’t trained or done anything at all during the week. We’ll have to assess it on Sunday, but it doesn’t look good at the moment.”
You can find out who will be crowned Carlow senior hurling champions on Sunday from 3.45pm when St. Mullins take on Mount Leinster Rangers at Netwatch Cullen Park with live commentary on KCLR.
