Momentum, confidence, belief

RIDING THE MOMENTUM WAVE: Shane Beston, Ballygiblin, Premier JHC champions 2022, at the launch of the Co-op Superstores Cork Hurling Championships at Páirc Uí Chaoimh.

"The quality that keeps an event developing or making progress after it has started."

- Momentum, noun, Cambridge dictionary.

The applicable term that is momentum gets tagged to many sporting outfits thanks to a recent winning run. What often coincides with the garnering of such momentum is the added confidence and belief that it gives a team going forward.

Ballygiblin hurlers have earned those tags thanks to two fruitful years spent fighting for silverware at the top table of Junior hurling on this island.

An All-Ireland junior hurling crown won in 2023, beating Sligo outfit Easkey in the decider, was preceded by a Croke Park defeat at the hands of Kilkenny's Mooncoin 11 months previous, but what have those feats done for Ballygiblin ahead of their intermediate bow against Douglas this weekend?

We'll let the club's leader Shane Beston take it from here.

“It’s huge like. In sport, momentum, confidence and belief is massive," Beston said. "With those two runs, I suppose we know if we can perform on the day, we can put it up to anyone.

"It’s definitely given us huge belief and confidence heading into a very competitive intermediate championship."

As Beston notes, the belief heading into the championship will bring with it an expectation within the squad and management that they are good enough to push on and not rest on their recent rise.

Giving themselves a chance of progressing into the latter rounds of the competition are a must. That's the current goal.

“Get out of the group first of all and secure our status up intermediate," the veteran said. "It’s the first time in the club’s history that we’ve been up intermediate, so we want to maintain our status first of all but then try and be as competitive as possible and see what happens.

“If we can get a bit of momentum again like we have had in the last few years, you just never know what can happen.”

If winning the All-Ireland earlier this year wasn't enough, Beston's feats en route to that decider were made even more special by his performance in the Munster final win over St Kieran's of Limerick.

Scorer of 3-3 from play on that December Sunday, what preceded that display made it a weekend he would never forget. Beston was married to wife, Emma, the day previous. The question is whether that could ever be topped heading into this year's hurling championship.

“I don’t think so, well I suppose winning another intermediate county might do it!” quipped Beston, before adjusting. “Ah no, that was a pretty special weekend all-round, for sure."

We didn't think so either.

Your home for all the latest news, match reports, features, opinions and expert analysis from the Cork Club Championships.

Your home for all the latest news, match reports, features, opinions and expert analysis from the Cork GAA Club Championships.

more cork county championship articles

More in this section