ALTHOUGH Clonakilty had qualified for the Division 1 league final in their first season back in the top tier, selector Eoin Ryan was none too happy with the performance against a make-shift Castlehaven side.
Clonakilty got the result they needed, but were unconvincing in their 1-15 to 2-12 draw. Still, despite the poor performance on the day, Ryan was happy with the way the season has gone so far, their only loss in the league being to Nemo Rangers in Cork by a point, having missed five clear goal chances. Clon were also top scorers in Division 1, and by a distance.
‘Overall, things are going very well this year,’ Ryan said.
‘Our target was to reach the league final and we’ve done that. It would be better if we weren’t playing the Barr’s in that final but it is what it is and you just take every game as it comes.
‘Today was a good test for the young lads we brought on. We were under a lot of pressure and they stood up well to that. We would be very disappointed with giving away that last goal, that won’t do going forward. There’s no worry that we might have peaked for the league.
‘Today, it might have been hard to get up for the game because we’d be playing the Barr’s if we won. Obviously, you want to win every game but looking at the energy on the pitch, we were very short of possession in the first half. It was our lowest possession count this season. They were well depleted but they still bossed the game.’
With the championship just weeks away, Clon play the Barrs in their group opener on July 26th, and Ryan admits injuries are a concern. Thomas Clancy and Maurice Shanley missed the draw against Clon, while Sean White and Liam O’Donovan both came off during the game.
‘We’re delighted with the way the season is going. We’ll have the Barr’s in the first round. They came down to us during the league but they had a very understrength and we gave them a clipping. They will obviously try to get their own back in the championship,’ he said.
‘The injuries are an issue now. We don’t know how bad some are yet. Things are very good in the camp, we’d be training two or three nights plus the matches. We wouldn’t be too worried about today’s form,’ he added.
