DESPITE being outscored by 0-4 to 0-1 in the closing stages of the first half, Diarmuid Ó Mathúnas boss Pat Lucey was happy with his side leading by two at the break in the Carbery JAHC final.

‘We weren’t nervous at all at half-time. We weren’t too bad because we had actually played well enough,’ Lucey explained.

‘The few points St Mary’s got before half-time were from frees, which we couldn’t do much about. We were in a good place. We just had to keep our heads.

‘With 15 or 20 minutes to go, we made a couple of substitutions and they all made a difference. Paddy (Crowley), James (Fleming) and Willie (Horgan) were brilliant.’

Lucey and his management team of Colm Fogarty, Johnny Nyhan and Tadhg Nyhan give their players the confidence to never panic in testing situations.

They hit nine wides in the second half – and 15 overall – and could have easily panicked when Mary’s reduced the margin to the minimum in stoppage time.

But they showed the calmness and experience gained from their 2024 title victory, as they won the late rucks before substitute Willie Horgan unleashed a long-range effort to clinch the Flyer Nyhan Cup.

‘That was a very tight game,’ admitted relieved Mathúnas midfielder Kevin O’Donovan, who claimed the man-of-the-match award.

‘It was always going to be that way with Mary’s. We’re delighted to get over the line. We made hard work of it, but the result was all that counts.

‘I was delighted for Willie. He’s put in a huge effort this year. He was starting for a good portion of the year. He put in the effort over the winter to try and get the starting place. He was saying it himself. I was delighted for him to come up with the final score. It was a sweet score as well.’

Diarmuid Ó Mathúna's Ted Lordan and his daughter Siomha, and Jeremiah Hurley celebrate with the Flyer Nyhan Cup. (Photo: Paddy Feen)

Usually, it’s top scorer Caolán O’Donovan, captain Jeremiah Hurley or key forward Jamie Lucey stepping up to the plate.

Last Sunday, the victors had seven different scorers and all of them converted from play too. Midfielders Kevin O’Donovan and Robbie Lucey combined for 0-5 and were influential in winning breaking ball around the middle.

All their subs made a difference as well, emphasising the strength of their panel.

‘We have four or five lads there that can come in and freshen it up. They are maybe as good as the lads that are starting,’ manager Pat Lucey explained.

‘Kevin was brilliant, in fairness. The big game suits him. He’s always good in the crunch games. We brought him out around the middle of the field and he came thundering into it. He was bursting through tackles and getting the scores. He set up players as well. He’s a huge player for us.’

This triumph was a sweet one. Beating their near neighbours in a final was special, even if some of the players will join up with Mary’s players for Ahán Gaels’ duty in their Carbery U21B hurling final against Kilbrittain.

For now, though, Mathúnas will enjoy getting one over a club just under six kilometres away.

‘We would have all togged out with all of them fellas at underage. We’d all know each other and we’d have respect for each other but you have to forget about all that,’ added Caolán O’Donovan, of those U21 players.