Clough-Ballacolla manager Willie Hyland: ‘We’re where we want to be now’

Clough-Ballacolla manager Willie Hyland is no stranger to the big stage. Having won six Senior County medals as a player and another as manager in 2024, the reigning champions are exactly where they want to be once again, preparing for another Laois Senior Hurling Final.

“We're where we want to be now, down to the last two in Laois. A lot of clubs would love to be where we are, so we're really looking forward to it,” Hyland said.

On the semi-final battle with Ballinakill

Reflecting on their extra-time semi-final win over Ballinakill, Hyland was full of praise for their opponents and said he’s simply glad to have another final to look forward to.

“A lot of it was down to how good Ballinakill were as well; they're a very good team. They’ve some really good hurlers all around the field. I think the two Joseph’s lads are a massive addition to them, Ian Shanahan and Gearoid Lynch, they bring massive athleticism to them. We watched Ballinakil and they’ve some good hurlers like Ben O'Mara and a few more like that. Then you have Cha, Podge and Sean Downey and these fellas. Ballinakill are a very good team, and it was nothing less than what we expected, to be honest. We're just glad to be on the right side of it now and to be looking forward to a final,” he added.

Cillian Dunne’s extra-time brilliance

One man who lit up extra-time was Cillian Dunne, scoring 1-6 of his 1-7 tally in the additional 20 minutes. Hyland praised the young forward for standing tall when the team needed him most.

“We needed that. We spoke about it in the dressing room that we needed somebody to stand up, and in fairness to Cillian, he was absolutely excellent. Not just alone in extra time, but even in normal time as well. In the first half, he was the one who created Willie’s goal, and he was looking threatening the whole game, so look, we're delighted for Cillian. He has that potential, and he really announced himself last Sunday,” Hyland commented.

Winning as a manager compared to a player

Asked whether winning a County Final feels any different as a manager compared to as a player, Hyland said the emotions are similar, even if the level of control isn’t.

“You probably have less control as a manager, to be honest with you. At the same time, look, it's your club and you're equally as passionate about it, to be honest with you. The only difference is that you can't actually do anything on the field. When you win, it's the same kind of feeling that you get, maybe as a player, so yeah, it has similarities,” he said.

How he got into management?

Hyland admits that management was never something he initially planned. His move into the role came naturally from within the club when discussions arose about the team’s future direction.

“It wasn't really on the radar, to be honest with you. It wasn't something I thought about. Obviously, I would love to still be playing at senior level, but just for a couple of reasons, I can't compete at senior level anymore. How did it come about? I suppose internally in the club, there were talks about who was going to take us on for the following year and maybe there were a few candidates from other clubs in Laois that I didn't think were the most suitable. So I said, Here, I'll take it on and that's really where it came from. Then we went about getting a good backroom team the last two years. I have to say I got a massive amount of help. It's definitely a team effort from a backroom team point of view. It's just everybody driving towards the one goal, and that's to try and make Clough-Ballacolla successful,” Hyland said.

Thoughts on facing Camross in a County Final

Looking ahead to the final against Camross, a club Hyland knows well from his playing days, the Clough-Ballacolla boss was full of respect for their opponents, while quietly confident in his own side’s experience.

“Camross are massive favourites for the game. They've been the most impressive team in the championship; they're really hitting form. They gave Rathdowney a nice beating the last day as well. Looked really, really sharp all over the field. They have Mossie Keyes, who seems unmarkable at the moment. With the bookies, they're massive favourites and rightly so. Everybody's talking about Camross throughout the county that it’s their county final.

We know how good they are. But look, from our point of view, we've won four out of the last five finals. We have a bit of experience at the big day and know-how, so we're hoping that's going to come into play. There's massive respect for Camross and I know they're the same with ourselves. There's always been good battles over the years, so I'm sure Sunday week will be no different,” Hyland ended.

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