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*Lissycasey’s Diarmuid McMahon takes on Corofin defender Cian O’Loughlin. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill.
NOT ALONE did Lissycasey lift silverware in the Cusack Cup but they utilised the league to strengthen their panel which has heightened competition for places.
Lissycasey recorded a 1-15 1-11 victory over Corofin in round one of the TUS Clare SFC. They used twenty players over the hour with six different footballers registering scores.
With twenty four minutes played, Lissycasey led 1-8 0-0 while they had a thirteen point cushion with thirty nine minutes on the clock.
Manager David Considine acknowledged they made matters more difficult for themselves. “From the offset when a draw is made you’re targeting your first game, we’ve been targeting it for a few months and even during the league you’re looking towards the first round of championship. We have the points on the board but that only half tells the story of the last hour and a half, we were lucky in a way to come out with a victory based on the fifteen minute period where they wrestled control completely back off us and really put us to the pin of our collar”.
A more ruthless approach will be needed if they are to progress in the Clare SFC, Considine maintained as he pointed to Corofin’s spell of getting an unanswered 1-8 in fourteen minutes. “It is very hard directly after a game but the video will be nasty for about ten or fifteen minutes, there was chances we could have taken but we didn’t take them, we had an extra play that wasn’t required or an extra solo or pass, we had one or two more chances early in the second half that would have made us more comfortable but we were still well ahead and we have to commend Corofin for the fightback, we were genuinely worried when it was back to two points out of nothing, we were lucky that a couple of guys came up with big plays at the end to pull clear again, it wasn’t comfortably anyway”.
During this period, Corofin punished Lissycasey on their own kickouts and breaking ball. “The stats will tell a lot but that fifteen minute period we might have won one out of eight but when we lost breaking ball they seemed to score, so it is one thing losing breaking ball but giving away chances straight after is another thing”.
Up front Lissycasey demonstrated their ability with Daire Culligan (1-6), Shane Griffin (0-3) and Diarmuid McMahon (0-2) lively throughout. “We kicked some lovely scores and even still we left some behind, some of the scores were lovely, there was more aspects where simpler options like the faster option of putting it over faster in the move instead of trying to walk it in every time, the video will tell more on Tuesday night and where we can have a better look and idea on what did happen at stages early in the second half when we seemed to be on top possession wise but not scoring”.
Recording a first round win without Aaron Griffin, one of Clare’s standout footballers in the past two seasons reflected how much Lissycasey have focused on building a panel. “We’ve been talking all year that the league gave an awful lot of players a great chance to put their name on a jersey, one or two lads have done that, they started the league and people might have thought they would be gone by championship but two or three of them started, played their part and had great matches, we got our U20s and seniors back, the bench is fine as long as it performs. Maybe it was the changes we did or didn’t do that added to Corofin’s comeback, everybody has to look in the mirror but ultimately we have a big panel and it’s trying to keep lads happy and in some way engaged”.
