SHC FINAL PREVIEW: Meet the managers
Naas and Maynooth have met in three of the last four UPMC Kildare Senior Hurling Championship Finals
It will be a familiar sight in the UPMC Kildare Senior Hurling Championship Final on Sunday when Naas take on Maynooth for the fourth time in five years.
It’s all change on the sidelines, however, as Mark Dowling and Ollie Baker prepare to lead their respective teams out on final day for the first time.
Dowling is a Kilkenny native who was in the running to replace Derek Lyng as inter-county manager of the Cats having previously managed the county’s U20s. He is the man charged with guiding Naas to an eighth successive title, not done in Kildare since Clane managed that in the early 1900s.
Opposing him is Ollie Baker. A legend of the game, as a player he won two All-Ireland titles with Clare in the 90s, and an All-Star, and also an All-Ireland Club title with his club St Joseph's Doora-Barefield in a golden era for hurling in the county.
Now 52, Baker has racked up a wealth of coaching and managerial experience in a variety of roles around the country.
Both managers spoke to Ger McNally to look forward to Sunday’s big game.
For Richard Commins’ preview of the game, click here.
