Carlow chairperson Jim Bolger said he knew from the bus journey up to Croke Park on the day of the Joe McDonagh Cup final that the whole team was more than confident heading into the decider.
See also: Carlow’s Paul Doyle on climbing the Hogan Stand: “It’s the stuff of childhood dreams”
Carlow recorded a famous one-point after an extra-time victory over Offaly last Saturday booking themselves a tie with Dublin now in the prelim quarter-finals.
Normally the saying is “Follow me up the Carlow”, however, Jim followed the Carlow team up to Croke Park for the journey and speaking to Scoreline the county chair outlined the atmosphere on the trip to Croke Park last Saturday;
“I knew by the group, I knew by the atmosphere on the bus that these lads were ready for the challenge and you could sense that confidence. That they had belief in themselves and they knew that they have the forwards. That defence was very good and obviously, the link play with the midfielders, but very good forwards and a very good record defensively in the McDonagh Cup this year.”
“So the confidence was high, even though it came across as being quietly confident. I’d say it was slightly higher than that.”
We will be looking back on the final this Saturday on Scoreline from 3 pm where you can hear the full interview with Jim along with players.
