*Cooraclare goalkeeper Harry O’Gorman. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill.
GETTING TO experience an intermediate county final will stand to a youthful Cooraclare side, manager Martin Daly maintained.
Only four members of the starting Cooraclare team had lined out in a Clare IFC decider prior to Sunday’s five point loss to Corofin. Pearse Lillis, Gary Donnellan, Seán Browne and Brian McNamara were also part of the side which came up short against Kildysart by a single point in the 2022 final.
Experience was a deciding factor in Corofin clinching promotion at Cooraclare’s expense according to manager Daly. “Corofin did really well today, they exposed us at times when they needed to, their experience got them down the road a bit easier than us, we had a nervy start and gave them a four point lead, we had chances and we were creating chances but we still weren’t getting the scores, we always seemed to be on the backfoot, we were always a few points down, at one stage we brought it back all square but they got in for another goal.
“We knew it was going to be tough against them. Our lads performed extremely well today, we have a very young side with a lot of inexperience but they fought right till the end, if a few things went our way we might have been closer,” he told The Clare Echo.
Daly was hopeful the big day would be a learning curve for a youthful Cooraclare outfit. “We had lads that were never on the grass of Cusack Park before. To be out there and taste a county final day and the bits and pieces which go with it during the week, I must admit I thought they coped extremely well with that during the week, the atmosphere was very good in the dressing room beforehand but you could see lads were nervous and of course they were going to be because we’re all nervous on county final day but that experience I hope will stand to them. If they all stick together, they really are a good bunch so if they stick together they will hopefully be fighting again next year”.
After Shane Lillis goaled to put Cooraclare back on level terms with forty minutes, Corofin replied with an unanswered 1-3. “It should be the other way around and we have talked about that before that when we are there or thereabouts that the next score is vital. Again that comes back to Corofin’s experience, they have seen it happen umpteen times even at senior that after a score it is so important to react positively and they did,” the Lissycasey native outlined.
