Barry McNulty of UCD celebrates after equalising the game from a free in extra-time during the Electric Ireland Higher Education GAA Sigerson Cup semi-final match between UCD and TU Dublin at the GAA National Games Development Centre in Abbotstown, Dublin. Photo by Tyler Miller/Sportsfile
By John Harrington
In the dressing-room before tomorrow’s Sigerson Cup Final against DCU Dóchas Éireann, there’s a good chance that UCD manager, John Divilly, will point out Barry McNulty to his team-mates.
UCD wouldn’t be in this Final were it not for McNulty.
The Leitrim man won and converted an 82nd minute mark that brought their semi-final against TU Dublin to penalties and then converted one of those penalties in his team’s shoot-out victory.
Sport can be cruel sometimes though. When converting that penalty McNulty pulled his hamstring and has been ruled out of tomorrow’s Final.
It’s a heart-breaker for him but will surely be an extra source of motivation for his team-mates who will no doubt be determined to ensure his sacrifice wasn’t in vain.
As for McNulty himself, he’s devastated to be missing the match, but he’s determined to be as much as a positive influence around the camp as he can be.
“It tightened up after I kicked the mark,” says McNuly of his injured hamstring. “I thought it was alright and it was just because I'd played a lot of games, I'd played three games in a week so I thought it was pure fatigue.
“It was sore but when I took the penalty it just got a lot worse. I went for the MRI and it was a grade two hamstring tear.
“It's very disappointing because it sidelines me for a while now unfortunately.
“It'll be difficult to watch from the sideline on Wednesday because you'd love to be out there playing with the lads. That's just the way it goes. It'll be a tough watch but all you can do is cheer them on and hope for the best. You can't get too caught up in being selfish, you have to think of the overall picture as well.
“There's been other lads injured at different stages of the year and they've been doing their bit. It's a team game and you have to take pride in being involved with the team and having made a contribution before the final. You have to look at the positives and see what you can do now for the final to help them win.”
UCD were beaten by Ulster University in last year’s Electric Ireland Sigerson Cup Final in a match that saw them concede two goals in as many first half minutes.
Barry McNulty of UCD gathers possession ahead of Cormac McKeogh of TU Dublin during the Electric Ireland Higher Education GAA Sigerson Cup semi-final match between UCD and TU Dublin at the GAA National Games Development Centre in Abbotstown, Dublin. Photo by Tyler Miller/Sportsfile.
They came storming back in the second-half to reduce an 11-point deficit down to four by the 51st minute, but eventually ran out of steam.
The disappointment of that day has fuelled them this year on an impressive run to the final that has seen them win four games they’ve played.
“Yeah, it's been a massive driver for us,” says McNulty of last year’s defeat. “You learn most from your defeats and that defeat last year hurt and stuck with a lot of lads, particularly the manner in which it happened so quickly early on in the game with those two goals.
“A lot of boys have had that game in their heads and it's been a huge driver this year. The goal was to get back to the Sigerson Cup Final and hopefully right a wrong from last year.
“There's a huge amount of lads still involved from last year's team, we've only three or four lads who weren't also there last year.
“Everyone is really driven. It's an All-Ireland Final at the end of the day and boys really want to chase that. It's something you would have dreamed of as a kid. All you want to do as a player is to get to this stage.”
A final of very fine margins is expected tomorrow. UCD edged out DCU by just a single point when the teams met in Round Two, and this game is likely to be just as tight.
“In the Round Two game we were feeling each other out for a large majority of the first half,” says McNulty.
“It was cagey, and especially in the forward line it was hard to get a shot off. We were going around the edges, feeling them out, and not really getting anywhere.
“Then in the second-half it exploded into life for the last 20 minutes. The speed of the game was immense. It was the most fast-paced we've played this year in the competition.
“This final is probably going to be something similar. Boys are going to maybe have that bit of nerves on Wednesday and there will be the odd mistake made and in the first half an hour the teams will be feeling each other out.
“You don't want to be put away early like we were in last year's final. Both teams will try to stay in the game.
“Sigerson tends to follow that trend. In the first half you feel each other out and then you really go at it for the last half an hour or 20 minutes.”
Barry McNulty of UCD in action against Conor Dolan of DCU Dóchas Éireann during the Electric Ireland Higher Education GAA Sigerson Cup Round 2 match between UCD and DCU at Billings Park in Belfield, Dublin. Photo by Ben McShane/Sportsfile.
Both teams have gotten a great impact from their bench throughout this year’s competition and it’s likely to be the defining factor again tomorrow.
“Your bench is always massive and we have really gone into the depths of ours,” says McNulty. “I think we have 28 or 29 players used at this stage of the competition.
“We really rely on our bench. They've really gotten us over the line in our games so far. We've had super footballers coming off the bench every bit as good and sometimes better than those who started.
“DCU obviously got great joy from their bench in their semi-final as well and it turned the game for them. Identifying when those changes need to be made and the impact you get from them will be huge on Wednesday.
“Sometimes lads can have their head down if they're named on the bench, but we've been lucky that boys have really focused and come on with the right mindset to see how they could shape the game and try to win it.”
Leitrim supporters are surely as dismayed as McNulty’s DCU team-mates are by his untimely hamstring injury.
When does he hope to be fit enough again to contribute to their Allianz Football League Division 3 campaign?
“It's my first hamstring injury so I'm just making sure that I get it right,” he says.
“We're in that four-to-six-week bracket. The first injury you could come back too quick and it might be better to take an extra bit of time to get it right.
“We've seen lads over the years have the hamstring become a recurring injury and that's something I want to avoid.
“At the start of your career you're only young and you want to get back quick, but you have to put it in the big picture that you're going to be playing football for a good while so you want to get these things right and make sure I can come back in the right shape for me to contribute to the team and have no hiccups.”
