*Cratloe defender Riain McNamara. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill.
ONE win won’t suffice in the nail-biting Group of Death in the Clare SHC, Cratloe manager John O’Gorman has stressed.
The Clare Echo’s online coverage of the Clare SHC is with thanks to The Temple Gate Hotel.
Cratloe’s lesser-known lights in the guise of Daire Neville and Cathal Lohan set the way as they recorded a 1-24 1-21 win over Scariff in round one but it’s back to action again this time as they face Kilmaley on Saturday evening in Zimmer Biomet Páirc Cíosóg.
Speaking to The Clare Echo, Cratloe manager, John O’Gorman outlined, “One win doesn’t mean much in this group as you have to go on the next day and do it again. We’ve Kilmaley next and they had a great win so after the football, we’ll knuckle down for that again”.
Reflecting on their first round with Scariff, he said, “It was a great game, a real ding ding battle the same as last year. Two good teams with only a puck of the ball between us. We knew we were up against it coming in this evening as we were down a few bodies but I was really impressed with the younger lads that really stood up today, Cathal Lohan and Daire Neville popped up with vital scores today.
“We had said it to them before the match. We knew we were down Podge [Collins] and Cathal Mc[Inerney] and a few more so I said that ‘it’s here time to shine’. ‘Don’t nee depending on anyone else, go and do it yourself and make a name for yourself’ and I think they did,” O’Gorman added.
He continued, “Look, it came down the final puck. I mean a goal from Mark Rodgers at the end and it would have finished level but that’s championship hurling for you. It was always going to be tight and we say that throughout the weekend with results that a team could be ten or eleven points down and it means nothing as they can come back.
“You just have to stay in the fight the whole day and thankfully we did and were rewarded. Someone said coming off the field that it was our first opening round win in four years. I always aim to get off to a good start and it doesn’t always go according to plan but it did today”.
