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THERE was great joy for three young Clare handballers at the recent 40×20 Irish Junior Nationals in Kilkenny. Tulla’s Colin Corbett and Colin Crehan of Kilkishen won their respective age grades and as well as being crowned Irish Nationals champions, earned their place on the Irish team which will travel to Tucson, Arizona this December to compete in the prestigious US Junior Nationals.

Clooney girl Natasha Coughlan was also victorious, winning the Girls 15 and Under ‘B’ Singles final against Mary Buggy of Kilkenny.

Colin Crehan took the Boys 17 and Under title in very impressive fashion, beating Donal Wrynn (Leitrim) 21-15, 21-16 in the final and thus earning a Christmas trip stateside to compete with some of the top young handballers in the world.

Crehan took some notable scalps on the way to the final, including Galen Riordan (Wexford), Pa Herlihy (Cork) and fellow Clareman Patrick Fitzgerald. It rounds off a super year for the Kilkishen star, having won the All-Ireland Under 16 Singles title earlier in 2011.

Colin Corbett also secured his ticket to Arizona as an Irish Nationals champion when he won the Boys 15 and Under grade. Having overcome

Daniel Curry (Wicklow), Robert Fox (Meath) and Clooney player Fergal Coughlan, Corbett was made to earn his excellent win in the final. Facing Evan Sheridan of Meath, the Banner man dominated the first game to win 21-16 but Sheridan rallied and won the second 21-15. Corbett hald on to win the tie-breaker 11-7. It has also been announced that the 2012 Irish Junior Nationals finals weekend is to be staged in Clare.

Meanwhile, the annual GAA Handball Ireland All-Star awards function was held on Saturday night in Croke Park where Clare was well represented. There were a total of 14 categories, where each provincial award winner was also nominated for the national award. Clare handballers won three Munster All-Stars and scooped one overall national award at the gala banquet, where Banner star Marty Morrisey was also in attendance as MC.

Clarecastle man Tommy Hegarty was named as National Official of the Year, having already been named as a provincial winner. Clare’s other Munster All-Stars are Diarmaid Nash and Pat Donellan. Nash was named Munster Player of the Year (national award winner was Robbie McCarthy, Westmeath) while Donellan was 2011 Munster Masters Player of the Year (Michael ‘Duxie’ Walsh taking the overall award).

Avenue United 2 – Newmarket Celtic 2 (AET Avenue win 3-2 on penalties) at Lees Road

THIS meeting of the Premier League and Clare Cup champions always looked like a tie to savour. And so it proved. Early goals, flowing football and extra time heroics all gave way to the drama of a penalty shoot out. Avenue kept their nerve to edge past their old rivals Newmarket who pipped them to the league title last year.

The win was secured when Newmarket’s Seamus Lawlor struck his crucial spotkick over the bar. The miss, Newmarket’s third from five, ensured that Avenue’s three successful spot kicks were enough to guarantee passage to the third round of the Munster Junior Cup.

It had been an absorbing game. Avenue hit the front inside the first minute before the powerful presence of Stephen Kelly intervened to give Newmarket a 2-1 half time lead. Avenue were level minutes after the break when Dylan Casey teed up David Russell for a routine finish. Both sides had opportunities to win it but it was Avenue who came closest. David Herlihy missed two great chances in the final quarter while Barry Nugent’s stinging drive in the final minute of extra time was kept out by a flying save from Newmarket goalkeeper, Trevor O’Donnell.

Avenue, aiming to bounce back from last week’s league cup defeat to Lifford, made the perfect start. Mikey Mahony cut from the right wing, danced across the Newmarket box before unleashing a shot that deflected high into the net. 1-0 to Avenue and barely 40 seconds on the clock.

The goal didn’t unduly rattle Newmarket. Daithi O’Connell and Stephen Kelly both went close before the visitor’s drew level. Avenue had received plenty of warning about Newmarket’s danger from set pieces but could do little to prevent the equaliser. Stephen Kelly met Darren Cullinan’s perfectly flighted corner with a bullet of a header to make it 1-1 in the 24th minute.

Herlihy and the impressive David Smyth saw shots cleared of the line before Newmarket hit the front. Again Cullinan and Kelly were the main players; the latter heading the left back’s corner into the path of Daithi O’Connell who swept home.

The champion’s lead was gone by the 52nd minute. The youthful energy and drive of Smyth and Casey was at the heart of Avenue’s best passages of play throughout the 110 minutes of football.

And the duo combined to telling effect after half time with Casey’s teasing low delivery spilled by O’Donnell into the path of Russell who made no mistake. Avenue’s captain then hit the crossbar before John Healy produced a good save to deny Eoin Hayes.

The longer the half wore on, the stronger Avenue became. Herlihy spurned two chances the best of which was a missed header in the 86th minute.

No goal and nothing to separate the sides. Substitute Colm Mullen lifted over for Avenue in extra time before O’Donnell’s outstanding save denied Barry Nugent.

Time for penalties. Avenue’s Barry Nugent, Russell and Herlihy all converted from the spot. Likewise Kieran Devitt and O’Brien for Newmarket. Lawlor needed to score to keep Newmarket in the hunt. He couldn’t and Avenue were through.

Dr Crokes 0-12 – Kilmurry Ibrickane 0-9 at Lewis Road, Killarney

WHAT might have been for the bravehearts from Kilmurry Ibrickane!

If only they had lasted the course of this titanic affair in Beauty’s Home!

They led by three points seven minutes into the second half, inside another seven they had a numerical advantage after Dáithí Casey was sent off in the 43rd minute, by which time Dr Crokes had picked up more yellow cards than scores.

But the Crokes still had their trump cards in All-Ireland winners Colm ‘Gooch’ Cooper and Eoin Brosnan – between them they brought a halt to Kilmurry’s train, derailed it and ambushed what should have been Clare football’s greatest day in Kerry.

But it wasn’t to be and Kilmurry couldn’t complain after they failed to score in the last 23 minutes, allowed Eoin Brosnan dominate at midfield and were then powerless to prevent Cooper from rattling off the final four points to give them a deserved, yet very flattering three-point win.

It was very much a case of cometh the hour of need, cometh the bluebloods from Kerry as they overpowered Kilmurry down the home stretch of a gripping championship encounter that saw the pendulum swing in both directions before the assured left peg of Cooper settled it.

Cooper had been brilliantly marshalled by Shane Hickey for the first 48 minutes of the game and Kilmurry were brilliant, but ultimately perished because of their failure to press home their numerical advantage when they led by 0-9 to 0-7 after Casey was marched.

The initiative was lost in the few minutes they were deciding who was the best man to adopt the role of free man, a hesitancy that was ruthlessly exposed in the final 15 minutes when the Crokes reeled off five points without reply to book their final date with University College Cork.

All that after Dr Crokes had looked to be at sea at various intervals of the game – at the start when Kilmurry hit them for three points inside as many minutes; early in the second half when the Clare champions’ sheer enthusiasm opened up huge chasms in the Dr Crokes defence as Enda Coughlan and Noel Downes bagged points to put them 0-8 to 0-5 clear.

It was hugely impressive stuff from Kilmurry, with their dream start setting the tone for a cracking contest when each point was better than the next. Only 40 seconds in Ian McInerney fed Noel Downs who turned and fired over with authority – the big pity as the game wore on was that Downes, who had the beating of his man all day, only bagged one more point.

Enda Coughlan thundered through the middle in the second minute to land a great point before Michael Hogan’s shot from distance, after great work by Stephen Moloney and Downes, saw another white flag raised.

For a few minutes, thoughts of last year’s first half meltdown against Nemo Rangers in Mallow must have flashed across Dr Crokes’ minds, but not for long because they soon came to life and hit four points inside 11 minutes to move 0-4 to 0-3 clear.

Daithi Casey got them going with a point from play before two Kieran O’Leary efforts and a Casey free saw them hit the front and quench Kilmurry’s early fire. But it wasn’t for long because a brilliant solo effort from Evan Talty after he raced up the right wing and arced over a great effort from 45 yards.

It was defiant and it showcased Kilmurry’s first half performance that was at times fearless. This was added to by an Ian McInerney free and a Johnnie Daly effort from play by the 25th minute, before Johnny Buckley stemmed the tide with a point on the stroke of half-time that left Kilmurry 0-6 to 0-5 clear.

It was there for the Clare champions, especially after a six-man moved that started in the left halfback position and involved Peter O’Dwyer, Michael Hogan, Stephen Moloney and Declan Callinan before Enda Coughlan angled over a brilliant point from 35 yards.

That came in the first minute of the second half and was added to by Downes two minutes later as Kilmurry started to turn the screw – winning every break around the middle and being patient and measured with ball in hand.

Crokes got off the mark in the 35th minute when Cooper placed Casey for his second from play but when Johnnie Daly floated over a free in the 37th after a foul on Downes, it was Kilmurry who were closing in on the Munster final.

That it all went horribly wrong is reflected in the sobering statistic that they failed to score again, while a fisted effort by sub Chris Brady in the 42nd minute was the start of the Dr Crokes revival that ultimately swamped Kilmurry’s brave resistance in the final ten minutes.

Cooper’s first point levelled matters in the 48th minute – two more from play in the 52nd and 61st minutes came either side of two missed Kilmurry chances that could have swung the tie back in their favour.

Noel Downes got a fist to Ian McInerney’s centre in the 54th minute but it came back off the post, while Michael O’Dwyer shot wide from 30 yards.

By then Enda Coughlan had been sent off as Kilmurry’s noble effort just came up short.

Agonisingly so.

Kilmurry Ibrickane
Peter O’Dwyer (7), Martin McMahon (7), Darren Hickey (7), Shane Hickey (8), Declan Callinan (7), EvanTalty (7) (0-1), Paul O’Dwyer (7), Enda Coughlan (7) (0-2), Peter O’Dwyer (7), Ian McInerney (7) (0-1f), Michael Hogan (7) (0-1), Mark McCarthy (6), Stephen Moloney (7), Noel Downes (7) (0-2), Michael O’Dwyer (6).

Subs
Johnnie Daly (7) (0-2, 1f) for McCarthy [22 Mins], Niall Hickey (6) for Hogan [58 Mins].

Dr Crokes

IT was the celebrated and much quoted coach of the Green Bay Packers, Vince ‘the Lip’ Lombardi who said “if football is a game of inches, so is a career success”.

Kilmurry Ibrickane coach John Kennedy didn’t dip into Lombardi’s library for that one, but he might well have, such was the thinness of the line that separated his side from trumping Dr Crokes in this epic Munster championship encounter in Beauty’s Home.

“The ball that came off the post at the end, if that had gone in,” he says. “It was inches,” he adds.

And, it’s true. Kilmurry were that close to victory. Dr Crokes were that close to defeat.

“It was a great game,” continues Kennedy. “We gave it everything and you have to be hugely proud of the boys. The boys played very well. We had a gameplan and the boys moved the ball very well and took some great scores and I suppose our kicking was good. We hadn’t many wides and we were disciplined.

“We emptied the tank and have no excuses. We came down here to the lion’s den and were up three points early in the second half, playing great stuff. We were on top and going well early in the second half and needed to get another point or two to kill it off. Three points ahead, one point they were back in it and that’s the way it happened.

“The injury to Cookie was a real psychological blow. He was a huge loss. We had Odran out and our bench was kind of limited. I’m not making excuses, but you can’t ask anymore of the lads. They battled right to the end. The Crokes had the bit of craft. They got a few scores near the end and that made the difference,” he adds.

Another difference, Kennedy concedes, was the sending off of Daithi Casey that give Kilmurry a numerical advantage they failed to exploit.

“Sometime an extra man can be difficult,” argues Kennedy. “When you have a man less, you actually work that bit harder. Maybe we went into a false sense of security when they went down to 14 men. We weren’t getting a lot of ball around the middle at that stage and even though the Crokes were down they were still holding possession.

“We had a lot of energy emptied at that stage and it was a high tempo game with a lot of hard hits. Crokes are a superb team and we knew that coming down. They are worthy winners and came out of it in the end. We had no excuses.

“They had leaders there when they needed them, but having said that with five minutes to got it was still in the melting pot and if that ball that came off the post had gone in, it could have different.”

Vince Lombardi’s inches again.

Banner Ladies 6-8 – Kilmihil 1-9 at Hennessy Memorial Park, Miltown

BANNER Ladies added the Div. 1 league title to the senior championship crown for 2011 when on Sunday they accounted for the holders Kilmihil with 13 points to spare.

A blistering start to both halves proved crucial and once more it was Niamh O’Dea who did the damage. If the first attack of the game a quick free from Louise Henchy to O’Dea who lined out in her familiar full forward position proved fruitful when the minor drove it to the net just under the black spot. It was all Banner in the opening minutes and points from Rebecca Culligan and O’Dea put them 1-2 to no score ahead.

Then Kilmihil got going and soon as they did they began to whittle down the lead. Two points each from the Considine sisters Ailish and Eimear saw them trial by three with a quarter of an hour gone while Banner had been reduced to fourteen players following the sin binning of Katie Cahill for a dangerous foul on Eimear Considine while Suzie McNamara and Niamh Keane had pointed for the winners.

Niamh O’Dea then goaled again when she was first to flick a high ball in a race with Kilmihil keeper Edel McMahon who picked up a knock in the process. Another fine spell from Kilmihil yielded points once more from the Considines before Emma O’Driscoll came to her side’s rescue with a super save from Eimear Considine at a crucial time. Centre back Rosie Currane added a point for the west Clare side and O’Dea had the final say of the half with a pointed free while Susie McNamara was sin binned in injury time and so it was the senior county champions Banner Ladies who led 2-5 to 0-7 when referee Sean Ryan blew the half time whistle.

Within five minutes of the restart Banner Ladies had this game wrapped up as Niamh O’Dea added 1-2, all from play.

She followed with a pointed free while her sister Eva put the Ennis side 4-7 to 1-7 ahead when she finished to the net with still twenty to play.

While Eimear Considine did raise a green flag for Kilmihil, Banner did not ease up and scored two more goals courtesy of Rebecca Culligan and substitute Orlaith Lynch to run out deserving winners on a final score of 6-8 to 1-9.

Niamh Keane became the third Banner player to be sin binned when she was yellow carded with time almost up.

Niamh O’Dea with 3-5 was the star of the show for the winners. Emma O’Driscoll made two excellent saves while Louise Woods, Niamh Keane and Suzie McNamara who was surprisingly substituted all played well while Louise Henchy and Naomi Carroll also had their moments. Eimear Considine was Kilmihils top player on the day while Rosie Currane, Becky Mahon, Ailish Considine, Ellie O’Gorman, Orla Keane and substitute Moriah Lineen all played their part.

Banner Ladies
Emma O’Driscoll, Sinead O’Keeffe, ClareWalsh, Laurie Ryan, LouiseWoods, Katie Cahill, Eva O’Dea 1-0, Shona Enright, Louise Woods, Suzie McNamara 0-1, Naomi Carroll, Niamh Keane 0-1, Rebecca Culligan 1-1, Niamh O’Dea 3-5 (0-3f),Aoife Cavanagh (capt).

Subs
Grainne Nolan for Aoife Cavanagh,Aoife Keane for S. McNamara, Orlaith Lynch 1-0 for Eva O’Dea, Niamh O’Brien for R. Culligan, Rachel Grogan for S. O’Keeffe.

Kilmihil

CLARE’S Ladies Football U13 development squad travelled to their Munster blitz in Rathkeale last Saturday marking the culmination of their ten-week development program and a chance to match themselves to the rest of Munster. Two teams travelled to the Mick Neville GAA grounds and won four games over Cork (2), Tipperary and Limerick.

They also had a draw against another Cork team and conceded a marginal win to Kerry. Team mentors Eimear Considine (Kilmihil), Aine Kelly (Fergus Rovers), Johnny Hayes (Fergus Rovers) and Alan Copley (Banner Ladies) were very pleased with the progress of the panel during the LGFA Development programme which included a series of challenge games with Kerry, the Clare U16s and the Banner Ladies.

The Clare U14 trials now com- mence this coming weekend as the Marian Keane Tournament takes place over the next three weekends. Clubs from all over the county have been invited to send girls born 1998 to the trials from which the 2012 U14 panel will be selected to compete in the Munster Championships. Details will be forwarded to interested participants during the week.

Blitz particpants:

Lifford AFC 3 – Avenue United 2 at Lees Road, Ennis

NOTHING like a local derby to whet soccer appetites in the county capital – especially when there’s some silverare up for grabs.

So it was that bluebloods Avenue United and 50 years young Lifford produced a cracking Sunday afternoon contest for the first piece of premier silverware on offer in the 2011/12 season.

Honours went to Lifford, as for once they emerged from the shadow of the illustrious neighbours that were formed as a breakaway club way back in 1983 thanks to this edging this five-goal thriller.

And Lifford can say they did it the hard way, coming from a goal down and being generally outplayed by Avenue side the first half to forging 3-1 on 75 minutes and then withstanding everything Avenue could throw at them in a frantic finish.

It looked to be Avenue’s to win in that first half once they grabbed the initiative after 15 minutes when David McCarthy beat Lifford’s off-side trap and raced through unimpeded on Lifford’s goal before nonchalantly dispatching the leather past Jean de Silva.

By this stage a clear pattern had emerged – Avenue were playing the ball to feet, constructively trying to tease out openings, while Lifford adopted the route one and up and under approach to goal.

Which ever cap fits, because it worked Donal Magee’s charges on 25 minutes when a long ball was met by the ultra-competitive Lunga Balman in the air, with his close range header beating a hitherto virtually redudant John Healy in Avenue’s goal.

It was like an injection to Lifford because from there they grew in confidence, while Avenue lost their most influential player in David McCarthy to injury nine minutes before halftime.

McCarthy wasn’t the only person struck down – referee Tommy Guilfoyle had hamstring problems and was replaced at half-time by Dave McCarthy.

Lifford struck for a second two minutes after half-time when Lunga Balman turned provider – his cross from out near corner flag on right finding Darren O’Neill who nodded low to Healy’s left for a the lead goal.

It got better on 75 minutes when Ruairi Norrby benefitted from great work in the build up by Scott Hen nessy to beat Healy with a low drive – a goal that Lifford were full value for as they turned the screw on a strangley ragged Avenue.

All Avenue could do for the closing 25 minutes was circle the wagons – they did that but their only reward was an 89th minute goal from Mattie Nugent when his free kick from the left wing flew all the way to the net past de Silva.

It teed up a hectic finale but Lifford had done enough to mark their Golden Anniversary with some silverware.

It’s been a long time coming. Thirty five years since they won the last of their three Clare Cup titles.

Lifford
Jean De Silva, Joe Lynch (Paul Cantillon), Hamed Kuku, Mickey Joe O’Sullivan, Dylan Blake, Ruairi Norrby (Julius Lake),TJ Ajisomo (Pa Mannion), Pat Darcy, Lunga Balman, Darren O’Neill, Scott Hennessy.

Avenue United
John Healy, Dylan Casey, David Russell, Mattie Nugent, Simon Cuddy, Gary Flynn (ColmMullen) Con Collins, David Herlihy, Sean Corry, David McCarthy (Barry Nugent), Mikey Mahony.

Referee
Tommy Guilfoyle

SOMETIMES economy of words are what the sports psychologist orders. A case of what’s not said, because there’s no need – no need to tell the players what they know already.

There was some of mindset hovering around the Crusheen dressing room on Sunday as the Clare champions faced up to the supreme test of the second half of the Munster semifinal.

They’d been here before, albeit that last year’s championship clash against Kilmallock was a quarter-final. In the dressing room and ready to rumble and kick on for victory – their first ever in Munster championship fare, but they failed.

Surely this is what was said and hammered home? Again and again?

Not so says manager Michael Browne, whose man management and coaching skills has been the catalyst for Crusheen to rise from the ashes of county final defeat in 2007 to back-to-back titles and now the Promised Land of a Munster final.

“It wasn’t what was said,” he says after his side’s tour de force by the banks. “It was just the feeling in the dressing room. Last year we came out after half-time in a comfortable position and looking as if we were in a nice place against Kilmallock. They absolutely destroyed us in the first few minutes, so under no circumstances was that going to happen to us this year. That’s the focus that you saw when they came back out on the pitch.

“We had never won a title in the history of the club until last year – it was a massive thing for us and maybe it was asking a bit too much to expect them to go out and perform in Munster after that.

“This year there was a real determination there that we were going to go at least one step further, the problem being of course that we were in a semi-final in our first game, which made it that little bit harder. We didn’t even think about that, we just thought about the game last year, how we messed up in it last year and how we weren’t going to let it happen again this year. Thanks be to God we didn’t,” adds Browne.

All thanks to those 13 second half points, but also the six in the first half that provided the foundations that Browne points to as the real winning of this semi-final.

“We put in a great performance in the first half. I was very pleased that we were only two points down at half-time,” he says. “I knew that the breeze was strong because we had done a good bit of a warm-up on it. We were conscious of that. I thought that in the first half our backs weren’t as outstanding as they normally are, but I knew that they rise to it in the second half and that’s how it turned out.

“We do have a really good defence and a really good team, everyone of them can play and everyone of them can play really well and I’m really delighted with the performance. Our forwards have been much maligned in Clare, yet they came down here today and took some fantastic scores in the second half.

“We’re in the Munster final now. When you reach a final, everyone has a 50/50 chance. We’ll be going for it.”

Time to celebrate and then Na Piarsaigh. Then go for it.

DERMOT Coughlan has bowed out as manager of Clondegad, but as he goes the Kilmurry Ibrickane stalwart who was a member of Clare’s Munster final winning squad of 1992 has said that the county intermediate champions he guided over the past four years can be a real force at senior level in the coming years.

Speaking to The Clare People on Monday, after Clondegad’s agonising one-point defeat to Miltown-Castlemaine in the Munster intermediate semi-final, Coughlan has paid tribute to his charges after their heroic display against the Kerry champions.

“We’ve had four years and had a great time,” said Coughlan in stepping down. “We’ve had two promotions and got up to the Cusack Cup final, we’ve played in two county finals and won the intermediate championship and played in Munster.

“I’d like to pay tribute to the mentors I had with me. Kevin Tighe, Helen Murphy and Dermot Gavin – they have been brilliant over the last four years. The team needs a fresh voice now, someone else to take it on and build on it because there is great potential there,” he added.

As he spoke, Coughlan reflected on what might have been after his side saw their chance of taking the first step towards emulating Kilmihil, Cratloe and St Breckan’s, who have reached Munster finals in the last three years scuppered for a controversial late goal.

“We were unlucky. We played all the football and we can’t ask any more of the team. They were tremendous. Going into the game we knew we had to go up two or three notches – our county final performance wasn’t going to be good enough, but we had tremendous belief in our- selves,” he said.

“We started with 13 lads who were under 23 years of age and the pace they played the game at was unreal. They took the game to Miltown-Castlemaine. There was no blanket defence, no dropping back a man. We just tore into them and they gave it everything.

“The goals killed us. The first goal was from a kick he put across the square – it was going over the bar or going wide, but held up in the breeze at the last second and dipped under crossbar. If he tried it again a hundred times he wouldn’t do it. It was a freak goal.

“We moved on from that, but there was a nine-point turnover with the goal they got, the penalty we missed and then the goal we had disallowed. Things go for you are you don’t.

“The goal we got was debatable. Some say Shane Brennan was in the square, others say he was out. Gary Brennan kicked a sideline right into the square, Shane ran in and fisted it to the net. It’s easy for me to say it was a good goal, but when you’re 60 or 70 yards away, you can’t call it, but from our side it looked good.

“Kieran Browne soloed out with a ball. He was literally bundled to the ground and the ref was blowing for things like that all day. When he was bundled to the ground the ball spilled and the ball was kicked into the corner forward, who had that bit of space. The backs came around him again but his shot just trickled into the corner of the net. It was purely against the run of play. They’re the things that win tight matches,” added Coughlan.

CARRIGTWOHILL were applauded off the field after it was all over – it was always going to be so, given that the small east Cork club had dipped its toes in Munster championship action for the very first time.

You see, it had been a long time coming for a parish that prides and glories in the fact that it was home to hurleys over 800 years ago when at the time of Norman Invasion the men folk of Carrigtwohill ‘carried a stick bent at one end’.

So, win, lose, or draw, this was something of a celebration for them – hence the rousing applause they received from their faithful followers at, despite it being well and truly pummeled by a rampant Crusheen side.

A Crusheen side with a Munster title on their mind – and why not, admitted Carrigtwohill manager when praising the performance of the Clare champions and in particular their set of backs, whose reputation had preceded them to Páirc Uí Chaoimh.

“We knew we were going to face the toughest defence all year,” he admitted afterwards. “We certainly did. No matter what we put in there it was just coming out as quickly as it was going in.

“We had a couple of goal chances and they just wouldn’t go in. Fair play to Crusheen. They played a real tight, defensive game and fought really hard from start to finish and we just couldn’t break them down.

“We had wave after wave of attack in the first half but just weren’t able to finish it off. In fairness that was down to Crusheen’s pressure and their belief in themselves. It wasn’t down to our forwards. It was down to their strength back there. I thought we could have scored a goal or two in the first half but we didn’t when we needed to build up a bit of a lead when playing with the wind,” he added.

Given the strength of the wind, a 08 to 0-6 lead was hardly enough?

“It was still there for us at half-time. I said to the boys at half-time – the first ten minutes of the second half is going to be the winning of the game. But to be honest Crusheen came out with the same plan and they had they had a great first ten minutes. They scored three or four points on the trot and we just didn’t reply and were chasing the game after that.

“All championship games come in phases of 15 and 20 minutes. We had our phase just before half-time and we had pushed on well, but didn’t get the goal that we really needed.

“Then in the first ten minutes of the second half Crusheen really pushed on – that was their phase and the three or four points they got put our lads under severe pressure and there was no way back. They are a very good side and I think they have a great chance of winning the Munster title.”