*Ciaran Downes’ two pointer was the highlight of Kilmhil’s first round showing. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill.
KILMIHIL will bring a strong defensive approach once again as they return to the battlefields of the TUS Clare SFC this Friday.
The Clare Echo’s coverage of the Clare SHC is brought to you with thanks to The Shannon Springs Hotel.
Off the back of their 0-21 0-6 loss to Lissycasey in the opening round, Kilmihil are determined to issue a response when they meet Ennistymon in round two in Shanahan McNamara Memorial Park, Doonbeg this Friday at 7pm.
Keeping a clean sheet has been a big focus for the 2023 intermediate champions in this year’s campaign. “The fact we didn’t concede a goal is a big thing for us, it was a big thing for us in the championship last year and even the league this year, we wanted to get our defence as packed and compact as we could, we did that and we frustrated them to a certain extent today but the opportunities they had with their two point shooters negated that but we’ll take it as a positive. We left a lot of scores behind us, we had goal chances and some frees we missed, our scoreboard doesn’t look as good as it should,” manager Michael Doran told The Clare Echo of their first round showing.
He added, “The first round of the senior championship is never going to be easy, we had the same game at this stage of the championship last year and if you compare the two performances I’m a lot happier with what I saw today. Last year, we didn’t give a great account of ourselves but I think there’s a lot of positives we can take out of today despite the scoreline, the two pointers make a huge difference and they have a wealth of talent to a wide range of scorers, it is tough to contend with but we’ve to look at the positives and we’ve two games to look forward to”.
On the mood within their dressing room following the Lissycasey loss, he said, “There’s disappointment when you look at the scoreboard and see a fifteen point difference and rightly so, I’d be more worried if they weren’t disappointed. I think there’s more belief in the team this year, I think they will identify the positives as opposed to the negatives”.
According to Doran “Lissycasey are a top-class team in this championship” and he is of the view they will be closer to Ennistymon and Doonbeg. “We will have opportunities now over the next two games, we have to keep our heads up, take the positives and kick on”.
He was a spectator in Hennessy Memorial Park, Miltown Malbay for the first round clash between Ennistymon and Doonbeg. Both teams will offer stiff challenges, he predicted. “I thought it was a tense affair, Ennistymon will have quality to come back in, they are going to be two tough games, Doonbeg are never gone as they showed, they won a lot of breaking ball in the middle in the second half which gave them a platform, they will be disappointed they didn’t get a result. They will be two challenging games but on our showing today we can compete with them”.
