Never say die’: McDermott hails Burt’s grit after last-puck London drama

Burt manager Enda McDermott could finally breathe again by the time he made his way off the sodden pitch at McGovern Park - but only just. His team had survived a bruising, frantic All-Ireland Junior Club Hurling Championship quarter-final in Ruislip on Saturday, edging past Tomas Mac Curtains with the last puck of the game to book an All-Ireland semi-final place.

“It was nerve-wracking. I was worried there for a few minutes,” he admitted, still shaking his head as he reflected on another comeback in a season that has repeatedly tested Burt’s mettle. “But it’s the same thing again – five points down and we still come back. It just shows you what these boys are about.

“We have an All-Ireland semi-final to look forward to now with the club. It’s an incredible feeling.”

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The win, secured by Aidan McKinney’s nerveless point deep into injury time, followed a sluggish first half where Burt struggled to cope with both the conditions and Mac Curtains’ physicality and intensity.

“The conditions were difficult, players were slipping and sliding and we just couldn’t get a grip on it,” McDermott said. “We were four points down at half time in the Ulster final, and a man down, five points down today. These boys never say die.

“I had to read the riot act a wee bit at half time. But we settled down, knew that we were still in the contest.

“The boys always show plenty of work and effort.”

That effort was embodied by the McKinney brothers. Liam Óg, who finished with 0-12, was sublime under pressure, nailing frees and points from play while Mac Curtains’ danger man Shaun Lowry faltered in the closing stages. Aidan then delivered the killer blow.

“Fiachra Gill had a pop shot, but it broke and fell to Aidan who’d made his run through and popped it over the bar. Took his chance. Incredible.”

The squad depth that has carried Burt through a gruelling run of games will be tested again in December. Suspended for the Ulster final, Ronan McDermott will be available once more, but injury concerns remain.

“Stephen will do everything he can to be fit, and if he’s got half a chance of playing he’ll take it,” McDermott said of defender Stephen Gillespie, who didn’t tog after suffering a calf injury in the Ulster final.

“Conor Gartland was carrying a knock, but he still stood up today.”

The manager praised the second-half transformation that ultimately swung the game.

“The team battled a bit better in the second half.

“They knew themselves at half time that we weren’t near the mark, not as good as we can be.

“Once we started to do the hassling and harrying in the second half, everything else kinda fell into place.”

Now, after surviving scares in both the Ulster final and in London, Burt march on to face Connacht champions Easkey in the All-Ireland semi-final.

Manager McDermott and the supporters will be hoping that the team doesn’t put them through the wringer again.