*Clare intermediate ladies football manager, Wayne Freeman. Photograph: Burren Eye Photography
CLARE HAVE a home quarter-final to look forward to on Sunday in the TG4 All-Ireland intermediate ladies football championship, manager Wayne Freeman is bullish they are the best team standing in the competition.
A 2-09 3-06 draw with Tyrone on Sunday last in Longford secured a home quarter-final for Clare where they will welcome Westmeath to Cusack Park this coming weekend.
Reflecting on the clash with Tyrone, Freeman stated, “It’s not easy to travel two and a half hours and play in a neutral ground. We started really slowly which was a surprise. We gifted them 1-2 early doors and we did show great character to claw our way back into it but let’s be honest about it we missed five glorious goal chances at the start of the second half and really should have won this game comfortably. Our decision making at the end also let us down”.
More clinical showings are needed from Clare as they move onto the knockout stages of the competition, he maintained. “There’s a lot of stuff we’d be happy with but for such a dominant performance we really have to be more clinical. Our bench gave us a lift and they all contributed. Megan getting the goal and Caoimhe Cahill brought great energy.
“We just need to cut out errors. We gave them oxygen and some of the mistakes were desperate but we won’t hold it against them. In fairness to those players they seldom make mistakes and it’s better to make them today then in the knockout stages. We needed this battle as no disrespect to Wicklow or Offaly but we cruised through those games. Today will stand to us,” he added.
Self-belief is key among the players for Clare to kick on but it’s not lacking with the manager who is adamant that they are the best of the eight teams left standing in the championship. “We are in a good place overall. I honestly believe we are the best team in the competition. We are aiming to go all the way. We just have to believe in ourselves. We have some outstanding footballers and each day we go out someone stands up and today it was Aisling Reidy.
“We will knuckle down now and wait to see who our opponents will be but the main thing is we will be at home. To be honest I don’t care who we play because I believe we are the best team but it’s easier not to be travelling. Hopefully we can perform to our optimum from here on in and we will be a force if we do,” Freeman concluded.
