AS he stood with his arm in a sling watching Loughgiel turn the screw twelve months ago, Danny Toner naturally cut a frustrated figure.
He was Ballygalget’s captain but suffered a horrible shoulder injury in the infamous 0-6 to 0-2 county final win over Ballycran that took him out a provincial campaign of which the brevity has become all too familiar.
The injury was a broken collarbone, damaged AC joint and some ligament damage for good measure, but it thankfully didn't leave the kind of legacy such a bang can.
In reality, Ulster lasted about 20 minutes for Ballygalget last year. At that stage they were within two points of the Antrim champions but by half-time, the gap had risen to eight. By the final whistle, it was 19.
All-in it was a sobering afternoon for the Ards men in the beautiful Maghera sunshine, but one Toner feels they can put right against Slaughtneil on Sunday.
“We ultimately failed in that semi-final – we came up very, very short and were exposed very badly.
“I don’t think we were as fit as we are now. A lot of things have changed, a lot of boys took a look at themselves after that game.
”The way it ended with men getting sent off and that, it was a bad day out. But if there’s one team is going to do Ballygalget over, it’s Loughgiel.
“They’re a team we struggle against in the league, even though we got close to them this year in both league games, but in previous years we’d never got close to them.
“A lot of lads learnt a lot from that semi-final last year, there’s no doubt about it.”
There is certainly no such psychological baggage when it comes to the reigning Ulster champions, given that the sides have yet to encounter each other in a competitive senior game.
The clubs have faced off twice at Ulster minor level, but in a time after the 24-year-old Toner had surpassed the grade, and for him that is no harm.
“I know very little about them. I know four or five of their players and we know they’re good from seeing them on TV. A few of our minors from a few years ago played them in an Ulster semi-final but there’s not too much history between the clubs.
“I think that adds to it, we’re looking forward to get ripped into it. We clearly know a bit about them, but would we know them as well as we would a Loughgiel or a Dunloy? Definitely not.
“We respect Slaughtneil and what they’re doing and we know we aren’t going to get it handy. But it’s not the same thing when you’ve never played them before, there’s just a sense of anticipation and looking forward to it.”
Retaining their county title this year was a significant step given that no side had done that since ‘Galget last managed in during a three-in-a-row run from 2004 until 2006.
And this has been a very different year for them. Returning to the top flight in the Antrim league after two years in the second tier significantly enhanced the standard of hurling they’ve been getting.
Add in Down’s switch to a round-robin system for the championship and you can see why Toner is more buoyant about their preparations this time around.
“I’ve won one championship, maybe two, where we played only one game. Could you even regard that as a championship? I don’t know if you could if you’re looking at it critically.
“It definitely doesn’t prepare you for Ulster. Every time we’ve won a championship we’ve played Loughgiel when we’ve come out, and it’s been a booting session.
“They’re coming through three or four games against top teams. You’re in no way prepared and you can’t even get friendlies in between if that’s the card you’re dealt. We are a bit better for the new format.”
In his acceptance speech at the end of their one-point win over Portaferry back in late September, captain Ben Toner referenced the early-season struggle for numbers and enthusiasm.
But after edging their way out of the ever-unpredictable county series, Toner feels a different air around the place.
“In fairness to the lads, the training since the county final has been top notch. We’re training far better now than we’ve ever trained, because the shackles are off.
“The lads are flying and there’s no apprehension. The aim at the start of the year was to get to an Ulster final, we’re not hiding that fact. The training’s been first class and the lads are looking forward to this game.”
