*Martin O’Leary kicks under pressure from Ennistymon defender Ciaran McMahon. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill.
KILMIHIL knew by dominating primary possession they were strong enough to cause an upset and defeat Ennistymon in what was their first senior championship win since 2021.
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Michael Doran’s side caused the upset of the championship when they recorded a 0-16 0-13 victory over Ennistymon in the second round of the TUS Clare SFC which means Group 2 will go down to the final round to determine the standings of all four teams.
Speaking to The Clare Echo, Doran outlined, “Nobody else might have given us a chance but we gave ourselves a great chance coming into this game. We have worked hard in the last two weeks since the Lissycasey game. We were confident coming into this. We felt we could give this a good rattle”.
He was a spectator in Hennessy Memorial Park for the first round tie between Ennistymon and Doonbeg and had formed the view from watching this game that they could upset the North Clare side by controlling matters in the middle of the field which they did with Dan Keating producing an excellent performance.
Doran explained, “The middle third was going to be key. We watched the Doonbeg v Ennistymon game and I felt Doonbeg gave themselves a platform in the second half by winning the breaking ball around the middle. We knew the formula to get at them was primary possession and when you have forwards like Ciaran (Downes), Marty (O’Leary) and Cathal Murray, you are always going to get scores on the board if we have primary possession”.
Ciaran Downes kicked 0-12 over the hour for Kilmihil, four of which were two pointers. “The first kick from Ciaran from around halfway he just pulled a little bit bur we knew then that anything from around the 45 was within kicking distance for him. Get the ball in those positions and we have a chance”.
He continued, “a two point lead isn’t much in today’s game do there’s no point in sitting back and absorbing pressure. We knew we had to put our foot down and win primary possession and give ourselves a platform and see if we could extend the lead in the first ten minutes and that’s what we did”.
Overcoming Ennistymon is “a massive win” for the club he acknowledged. It is their first victory in the top tier since defeating Kilrush Shamrocks on July 31st 2021 in Cooraclare. “We have given ourselves a chance. When one looked at the fixtures and the scheduling of the fixtures it was always going to come down to the Doonbeg game. We have played them enough in the last couple of years, They know us well and we know them well. It’s going to be all to play for”.
Having played with the aid of a slight breeze in Doonbeg on Friday evening, Kilmihil led 0-9 0-6 at the interval but Doran felt they could have been further in front. “We had a lot of possession and I thought there were a couple of frees that could have been moved up to within scoring distance. As I said two points is nothing in today’s game. The first ten minutes of the second half was key, we could not rest on our laurels. We must park this now and plan for Doonbeg. We know what we are facing. It’s going to be a tough game. We have given ourselves a great chance. There is a lot of work to do but we will be ready”.
