February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
This will be the hurlers’ first outing since they came close to stunning Antrim back in the Ulster Championship. On that spring afternoon New York erased a 1-6 to 0-3 deficit over the last 29 minutes despite playing a man down to force extra time.
New York might well have pulled off the upset had Bonny Kennedy not been sent off in the extra session, but he was, and the home side was left to ponder the “what ifs.”
Westmeath earned the Christy Ring title with a narrow victory over Down and will be led into Gaelic Park by their captain John Shaw. Bonny Kennedy, Tom Moylan, Philip Wickham and Adrian Guinan were some of the New York stars against Antrim and if they can prompt New York to those same heights versus Westmeath then Sunday could be a great day for New York hurling.
New York’s footballers will be out to erase the bad taste from their mouths after a second half collapse cost them the FBD Cup against GMIT. There don’t figure to be too many changes in the New York lineup at this stage of the year, so manager Barry O’Neill will have to figure out how to get to good halves out of this team.
New York had success in the first half against GMIT, when they went the direct route to Paddy Smith in the full forward line, so look for that tactic on Sunday.
The hosts will also have to contend with Declan Browne, the Tipperary scoring machine and the only Tipperary footballer ever to have been named an All-Star. Despite playing for one of the minnows of the Gaelic football world, and in one of hurling’s traditional strongholds, Browne earned the honor in 1998 and 2003. New York GAA supporters should take advantage of the opportunity to see a player of this caliber compete against the home side.
Browne won his All-Star’s at wing forward and corner forward and but he is slated to start at full forward on Sunday. That sets up an intriguing battle with New York’s most accomplished defender Paul O’Connor.
New York will have to be very careful about committing fouls, a problem that has plagued the Gotham squad in the past, and could be disastrous with Browne on hand.
Look for Ronan Garvey to return to bolster the New York forward line. Garvey was unavailable versus GMIT, having just led St. Barnabas to the JFA title. Garvey has been one of the best players in town this season and would give New York a free taker, something lacking in the FBD Final.