Senior A football: Joint community effort helps Clyda to preserve status

After an important win – and, while a relegation play-off doesn’t bring a trophy, it certainly comes under that category – a team’s players and management are rightly hailed.

However, after Clyda Rovers beat Kiskeam on Saturday, their manager Karyn Graham was quick to praise the size of the community effort in ensuring that the club remained at senior A level.

The Mourneabbey side were 1-9 to 0-7 winners in Kanturk and Graham was naturally delighted to have got over the line.

“It’s absolutely massive relief,” she said.

“There was massive pressure on us coming in – we had eight that started in last year’s championship who didn’t start today, but the amount of support we’ve got in the last two weeks, since the Newmarket game, has been incredible.

“People were on the phone Monday morning, asking what they could do. We had the secretary of the club going down to Limerick to collect students for training during the week. We’re a small parish but, I tell you, we’re one hell of a parish and I’m delighted for those young charges today.

“I’m emotional but I’m absolutely so proud of each and every one of them.”

In their group, Clyda lost to Bishopstown, Knocknagree and Newmarket to leave themselves with one last chance. Was it difficult to puck the players up?

“It was hard but we have a great network of support,” Graham said.

“We have a great committee behind us – John Walsh, Liam Cronin, Cathal Cronin’s over there on the line for us today – we have huge diehard Clyda Rovers people and, when push comes to shove, they really have our backs.

“Anything we asked for, they’ve done but as well, it’s the boys. They’ve been listening to the jibes – ‘Ye haven’t won a game all year,’ – well, now we’ve won the most important game of the year. It was our county final.”

In the game itself, Clyda never trailed, leading by 0-5 to 0-3 at half-time before a goal and a point from Cian O’Sullivan put them in control on the restart.

“We left a lot of scores behind us, I felt,” said Graham, whose son Kevin scored a valuable point.

“There was a good nervous energy beforehand – they just wanted it so badly. You could feel it off them.

“They’re young and they’ll learn. Next year, we’ll have Conor Corbett coming back and Ben Nyhan and Ben O’Connor, who are away travelling.

“The lads here will have a massive year’s experience behind them – we’ve two 18-year-olds there and it’s massive.”

The hope now is to take confidence from this facing into 2025.

“Most of them are 21, 22 years of age,” she said.

“Chris Kenny and Paudie Kissane might bring up the average age a small bit, but this is huge for our club to be playing senior football again next year.

“Conor Corbett was unavailable after doing his cruciate, his brother Cathal is coming through. We’ve a massive amount of energy coming through.

“I’m delighted and so bloody proud. They lost the hurling quarter-final last week and that was another thing that we had to gee ourselves up from but that’s what we do. We dig in and we support each other.

“All the people up on then bank – my father, Vincent Twomey, was there and he was ringing me at half-time, he’s been involved in three county wins with this team.

“Anything people can do to help, they do. I’m so proud to be from Clyda Rovers today – and I’m proud to be from Clyda Rovers all year long. We’ve had a hard, tough year, I’m delighted for them and we’re going to enjoy this.”