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*Cian Burke of St Breckans. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill.
ST BRECKANS have “a lot of fight” left in them as they prepare for a first relegation battle since 2018.
Quarter-finalists for the past seven years, St Breckans will be fighting to stay in the Clare SFC alongside Cratloe and Kilmihil, both sides having failed to win any of their three group games.
A 2-14 0-11 defeat to Lissycasey in round three consigned St Breckans to the relegation series. They were without the injured pair of Padraig Kelly (broken hand) and Rowan Danaher (groin) for their latest outing.
Speaking to The Clare Echo, St Breckans manager, Patrick O’Neill maintained that the nine point gap was not an accurate reflection of the game. “The final scoreline is not a true reflection of the game. It was a good contest in the first half but the second goal flattened us and we couldn’t recover. We got a few injuries in the second half and we lost a bit of momentum around the middle of the field”.
He continued, “There is a lot of fight left in these lads. It’s a competition you don’t know what you will end up losing by with the new rules. It might look like a big loss but it’s not a fair reflection. We left a few scores behind us in the first half. We had great momentum but the half time whistle came at the wrong time for us as we were driving on a small bit. It is what it is now. They made a few changes, Matt O’Shea made a big difference in the middle of the field and Aaron Griffin coming off the bench was a big boost to Lissycasey”.
Showing the tight margins in the Clare SFC, O’Neill pointed to the fact that both of the 2023 county finalists are now vying to stay playing senior football for 2027. “Ourselves and Cratloe contested the county final just three years ago and now we are in relegation. If you don’t get the results this is what happens. We are fighting to retain our senior status now. We have been training well but the rub of the green hasn’t been going with us”.
