MIDDLETOWN'S Cahal Carvill has paid tribute to Dean Gaffney’s goalkeeping heroics against Lisbellaw in last Sunday’s Ulster Senior Club Hurling Championship quarter-final.
With 76 minutes on the clock, Lisbellaw were awarded a last-gasp penalty for a chance to draw level against the Armagh champions. But Gaffney, still only a minor, seems to wear such responsibly lightly on his youthful shoulders. Declan McGarry’s penalty was saved and the Armagh champions advanced on a scoreline of 0-19 to 2-10 to this Sunday’s Ulster semi-final against Cushendall.
Carvill says he had “full faith” Gaffney would hold his nerve in the heat of championship battle, with a late Lisbellaw revival threatening an upset against a Middletown side that had sustained sending-offs to Shaun Toal and Nathan Curry.
“We’d full faith in Dean to save the penalty, he did it before in the county semi-final. Saving one-on-one penalties is difficult but, all credit to Dean, it was a fantastic save, he’s a great young lad and he’s going to be the future of the club,” he said.
“He comes from a long line of hurlers in the Gaffney household with his brothers playing in the team, he has that in his locker as well. He’s a young lad, but he’s got a very bright future. I don’t think he’ll be in goals forever, but he stood up and we’re delighted he made the save.”
Carvill and Ryan Gaffney also assumed responsibility in the dying stages, sharing five points in the lead up to the match’s most significant moment. Both experienced county hurlers, Carvill felt duty-bound to make a telling contribution of his own.
“We got five points at the end between Ryan and myself. We’re two of the older members of the team. Being in that position before, we have to steady the ship and, thankfully, we stepped up and they went over the bar," he added.
“Realistically, we should’ve been further ahead, but all credit to Lisbellaw, they’re a very good team and they’re doing a lot of work up there to promote hurling, we didn’t take them for granted and it showed how big the game was.”
Carvill was one of 11 members of the Middletown team on the Armagh panel that fell at the final hurdle in this year’s Nicky Rackard Cup decider against Roscommon. A finance and commercial litigation associate with Arthur Cox, he admits spare time is at a premium between balancing his work and hurling careers.
“Certainly it is difficult, it’s a lot of pressure and, with our firm Arthur Cox, they do understand and they allow me a certain amount of time off to train and to get myself right," he said.
“But ultimately, you still have to do the work, so I think it all comes down to time management. I don’t really have any spare time outside of work or training, especially when the season’s on, but Arthur Cox have been very good to allow me to play county and club and further my career in that respect.”
After a six-week lay-off between the Armagh final against Keady and the Lisbellaw match, Middletown have only a week to recover for their semi-final against Antrim champions Cushendall.
Carvill said: “It’s not ideal preparation at the end of the day. We’ve got protocols in place for recovery in order to be ready for seven days, but it’s not going to be easy against a great Cushendall team. I’ve played with those boys in Ulster teams, so we know the quality of the players we’re up against, but we’re bringing a lot of good players to the table as well.
"We’d prefer a bit longer, but we just have to play the cards we've been dealt.”
