Lambert: This Bodes well for us
AFTER gathering six titles between 2007 and ‘13, Ballyboden St Enda’s return to the Dublin SHC final for the first time in five years tomorrow.
While the club’s run of success, having won their first title in 2007, was never going to last indefinitely, they wouldn’t have been expected to fall off the radar to that degree either.
“Every year you don’t win one you think, ‘Are we ever going to get back there?’ Five years, yeah,” sighed Simon Lambert, a veteran of their six titles from 2007-13.
“And we haven’t even looked like we were going to get to a final. Last year, we beat Cuala six weeks after they won an All-ireland.
“I suppose you could say they still had a hangover. But we beat them.
“And a week later, we lost to Crumlin. No disrespect to Crumlin, but we would have expected to beat any other club team.
“So yeah, we’ve kind of got our act together under new management.”
Tomorrow’s final opponents, Kilmacud Crokes, already took care of back-to-back All-ireland champions in the county semi-final.
Lambert added: “I’m just looking forward to playing them. I suppose every successful journey has to come to an end at some stage. Cuala’s came the last day to a good Crokes team.”
The Tipperary final is arguably the most interesting of the rest on show tomorrow given that four-in-a-row champions Thurles Sarsfields’ dominance is at an end, with finalists Nenagh Eire Og and Clonoultyrossmore bidding for their first title since 1995 and ‘97 respectively.