This article is from page 69 of the 2011-11-29 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 69 JPG
“SWINGS AND roundabouts,” says Michael Browne when summing up the first episode of Munster final drama served up by Crusheen and Na Piarsaigh.
An episode that saw influence and dominance drift this way and that before Johnny Ryan’s long whistle meant that they must do it all again.
Browne goes through each phase meticilously.
The slow start: “We started ok in the sense that we were playing reasonably ok, but we weren’t putting away the scoring chances we created, running out over ball and stuff like that. That would appear to indicate that there was something in the minds of the players.
“Maybe too much significance was attached to the occasion and as a result we made those few little slips early on. Early on in that game we could have been four or five points up had we taken the right options and the right choices.
“The magnitude of what we were trying to do was probably at fault, even though we had worked hard at trying to keep it as low-key as we could, but still it’s inevitable that little things like that happen.”
The second half when they surrendured a four-point advantage and then drifted behind with three minutes remaining: “It shows that the further on you go in these competitions, the higher the standard of the opposition is,” he says.
“Na Piarsaigh had the ability to put us under a bit more pressure and get those couple of scores to comeback. They came back into it and that’s what you expect when you get further and further into the competition.
“I had great confidence that we could get the ball up to the forwards and get that score (equaliser). I was still hoping it was a game we could have snapped at the end.
“You have to give the lads credit. They worked so hard right throughout that game. We were up against a quality team with quality forwards who were capable of getting excellent of scores.”
The replay: “The reality is that which ever team learns the most and comes out and performs best on the day will win.”
Teacher Michael Browne will be going to school in the next week with his team.
Then again so will teacher Sean Stack.