WE’LL NEVER KNOW if Lionel Messi could do it on a rainy Saturday afternoon in Tullamore, but St Vincent’s are banking on their own superstar playmaker to shine again tomorrow.
Diarmuid Connolly’s scintillating form helped fire the Marino men to their second straight Leinster title and pencil in a Valentine’s Day date with Corofin.
And after seeing Messi in the flesh over Christmas, captain Ger Brennan claims that Connolly works much harder than the four-time Ballon d’Or winner.
The Marino men enjoyed a team trip to Spain after they beat Rhode and became the first club to go back-to-back in Leinster since Éire Óg of Carlow managed it in 1996.
“It was just a break away after the long year and a half, nearly two years, so it was nice to get away together,” Brennan explained.
“We went to see Barcelona versus Cordoba. They won 5-0 and it was a great experience.
“There were only two or three guys who had been to the Nou Camp before, and it was nice to see the movement of the Barcelona players.”
It was the night when Luis Suarez scored his first La Liga goal following his £75 million summer transfer from Liverpool, but it was Messi who put the gloss on the win with two goals in the final 10 minutes.
Brennan said: “Messi scored two – very lazy, actually didn’t run anywhere – but he scored two goals at the end. Honestly now!
Iniesta, Suarez, those type of guys worked particularly well … but Messi just seems to pick up the loose ends at the end.
As the man Vincent’s trust to tie it all together in attack, Connolly will have his work cut out for him in the AIB All-Ireland club senior football semis.
I think he works far harder than Messi, in fairness, but Diarmuid is playing super stuff at the moment. He’s in the form of his life really.
The reigning All-Ireland champions are slight favourites against Galway powerhouses Corofin who put 7-20 past Leitrim minnows Aughawillan in the Connacht semis before dispatching Ballintubber of Mayo.
“They are an extremely successful team,” said Brennan. “Since 91, they have won 13 Galway titles so they are winning one every two years.
“They have won six Connacht titles and did back-to-back county there as well the same as ourselves, so they have a lot of experienced guys and I’d see a lot of similarities to ourselves.
“They have players like Gary Sice, Kieran Fitzgerald and two really strong guys at midfield so they are an extremely talented team.”
