*Evan Cahill wins the ball in the air for Kilmurry Ibrickane. Photograph: James Downes.
SPIRIT is building within the Kilmurry Ibrickane ranks as a new-look side strengthens their Clare SFC bid.
Retirements from the long-standing trio of Mark Killeen, Martin McMahon and Michael O’Dwyer together with Keelan Sexton’s transfer to Na Fianna, Andrew Shannon’s emigration to Australia and the absence of Aidan McCarthy and Ciaran Morrissey has led to a sudden transition for Kilmurry Ibrickane.
There may be change but they were still among the most impressive sides in round one as they overcame rivals St Joseph’s Miltown 2-15 1-13 in the first round.
Players have taken the opportunity that has come their way, manager David Egan said. “I’m going to be very honest, I’d love to publicly thank all the guys we had last year, some of the service they’ve given to the club well before my years, Martin McMahon, Mark Killeen, Michael O’Dwyer who have retired, I can honestly put my hand on my heart and say inside our dressing room they haven’t been spoken about at all this year, inside the dressing room it is about us getting the opportunity, let’s take it, today (round one) was the showcase for that, it is round one, we’re not getting carried away with ourselves, we know we’ve a lot of work to do with the group, there is a lovely spirit building within them which is what I like to see”.
He was very pleased with their second half showing where they outscored Miltown 1-8 0-6. “We’re very happy with our second half, we started off well and got four or five ahead, Miltown to be fair to them put up a massive battle, they obliterated us in the middle third for fifteen minutes of that first half, they got ahead and we were level at half-time. We came out in the second half, I thought there was a little bit more control and calm about us, we fought harder in around the middle third, we went short with a few kickouts and were able to get the ball out the field, up front I don’t think we’ve scored 2-15 all year so it is great to be hitting those numbers”.
Among the alterations to their team has been the move of county wing forward Dermot Coughlan to centre back. “We lost five of our six backs from last year’s county final, it is not about square pegs into circle holes, Dermot is a very capable footballer, very physical, the new rules added to it, Dermot coming onto a ball is very effective rather than having to come back to go up again, let him go up. He surprised me with the defensive element, he was very physical and very strong which is what you want your centre back to do and he did it, that was the gamble we took and in fairness to Dermo he stood up to it like all leaders do, he is a leader of men. We thought we were gambling in a way but we were confident he’d pull it off and he did”.
Offaly native Egan pointed to their own kickouts as a factor for Miltown dominating the second quarter and Kilmurry Ibrickane failing to score for fourteen minutes. “Miltown had our kickout well sussed, they had a 4-4-4 press, we lacked ambition, our body language coming out I thought our heads were down, we had stern words at half time on that, in the second half there was a lot more movement, it is that battle around the middle which is winning and losing games with these new rules, you could see that very clearly today, we brought on Daryn Callinan who is over 6ft, an extra bigger man, we brought on Cillian Darcy who is over 6ft and it seemed to turn the tide for us”.
One of the big pluses for the Bricks was the impact of Daryn Callinan off the bench, as he won three kickouts in a row at a vital stage in the game to help them get on top. “I don’t think Miltown were expecting that, a guy who has played a lot of football in the inside line. With the new rules, we might not have looked at Daryn as a wing forward until the new rules came about, it is interesting, we’re learning as we’re moving on”.
