*Éire Óg manager, Matt Shannon. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
Not enough big-name players ‘brought their A game’ when it mattered, Éire Óg manager Matt Shannon said following the club’s semi-final exit in the Clare SHC.
Having dethroned Sixmilebridge in the quarter-finals, Éire Óg followed the Bridge out the exit door at the last four stage when three points separated them and Inagh/Kilnamona at the final whistle.
Speaking following the loss, Matt Shannon outlined, “The bottom line is that we probably didn’t do enough on the day to get a result. It’s hard to pit your finger on it straight after the game but we just couldn’t get a flow, get onto breaks or build up play. Part of the reason for that can be credited to Inagh-Kilnamona but overall not enough of our big players were on their A game today and you usually need to win nine or ten battles on the field to get a result and we probably didn’t do that today”.
An increasing amount of games for their players seemed to take its toll, the Corofin man maintained. “I won’t use the dual commitments as an excuse as Inagh-Kilnamona have a few lads playing dual as well and some of those lads have been out for ten or eleven weeks in a row. Obviously not as many as us but that ball has to break for you too at times.
“Outside of Gavin [Cooney] who was a big loss after picking up a strain in his leg during the week, we were in a good place coming into this game. Inagh-Kilnamona had their fair share of injuries too so that’s all part and parcel of the journey when you’re a dual club in championship. But hats off to Inagh-Kilnamona, they earned it today and best of luck to them in the final”.
