*Cilléin Mullins bursts past Stefan Okunbar. Photograph: Burren Eye Photography
COROFIN manager, Douglas Hurley is hopeful his side’s run to the Munster intermediate final will lead to a positive return to the senior ranks for the club.
Kerry outfit, Na Gaeil blew away the North Clare side in Sunday’s Munster which finished 6-15 1-12. Hurley felt their opponents were a much slicker test to what they had encountered throughout their campaign.
He reflected, “I suppose Na Gaeil were a level above what we’ve played all year so it was disappointing for us in that we were hoping to perform to our best. We scored 1-12 and could have got a few more scores but they were a super team and we can have no complaints as they just blew us apart in that ten minute period after half-time”.
Speaking to The Clare Echo, he believed the margin didn’t tell the entire story but had no complaints having shipped six goals over sixty minutes. “The final scoreline was very harsh on the lads but that’s the quality of the team we were against. We kind of went to sleep for the first ten minutes of the second half and were blown away. At half-time we were only three points down and could have possibly been up as we were well up in the game. Robin Mounsey was very unlucky for a goal and then they broke down the field and got a score so we were three points down at that stage but overall, you can’t give away six goals.
“We never dropped our heads though. That’s been our character all year in fairness not to give up and we probably could have had another goal or two before the finish. Listen, we need to learn from it as what doesn’t kill us, can only make us stronger. Hopefully this run sets us up well for senior as provided that the lads don’t take today too much to heart and can move on, we definitely feel that we’ve something to offer the senior championship next summer,” Douglas added.
Na Gaeil manager, Mark Bourke felt the Corofin challenge waned considerably on the resumption. “I just don’t think that Corofin came out of the dressing-room, mentally, in the second half. I mean Jamie Malone was causing a lot of trouble in the first half, he scored three fantastic points in fairness so we moved Stefan [Okunbor] on him. We brought Diarmuid [O’Connor] out to midfield and Eoin Doody out as more of a third midfielder really.
“That really helped our cause as the first four kick-outs went straight to Diarmuid, and Jack Sheehan scored 1-2 in the first few minutes of the second half, and that just set the tone then. It was very hard for Corofin to get their heads up after that. Sometimes it takes 15 or 20 minutes to work out a team, we were a small bit slack as well, and I’d be happy enough that we learned from it, and we progressed as the game went on. Playing against Corofin, no disrespect to them, but we needed to be at a higher level coming out for that second half. We needed to be operating with a proper high level of intensity. Even in the county final, the Drom and Inch game, and today, we didn’t play for 60 minutes in any of them. Maybe that’s something that might happen at some stage,” Bourke concluded.
