Kilmurry boss Cormac Linehan: We kept our composure, it was a panel effort 

Kilmurry had to dig deep to come through their AIB Munster Club JFC quarter-final on Saturday afternoon. 

The Muskerry side were given a stern test but eventually saw off Clare outfit Michael Cusack’s in Cloughduv with the team in green and gold winning on a scoreline of 1-14 to 1-11.

It's Kilmurry’s third successive season in this competition and they needed all of that experience and quality as they were hit with 1-3 without reply in the first five minutes. They were against the wind in the first half as they trailed by a point at the break. They pushed on in the second half to win by three points.

Kilmurry manager Cormac Linehan was satisfied to see his side eke out a victory, which was played in difficult weather conditions. 

“The start was very average, very poor in fact,” he said post-match.

“To give Michael Cusack’s credit, they came at us and did everything right at the start. They had the wind and used the wind. They got an early goal and we had to react to that and we reacted well, not perfectly. We dug in, got to within touching distance before the break and then in the second half, we dominated possession and if our finishing was a bit better, we might have won the game more comfortably. We have got to work on that.

“Look, at the end of the day, it’s about winning these games. We are now in a Munster semi-final. The two penalties for us were crucial, they were two genuine penalties. We got a goal and a point off them, it would be worse if we didn’t get anything off them. Ideally, we would have liked two goals from them. 

“There was a bit of celebrating to be knocked out of the team so today was a very good way of doing that. The lads are back down to earth now. The players kept their composure and that pleased me most today. The discipline was very good and we got some very good scores. We didn’t panic when we were down six points.” 

Saturday’s hard-fought win came just 15 days after the green and gold defeated rivals Canovee in the McCarthy Insurance Group Premier JFC final. It could have been a potential banana skin for Kilmurry in Cloughduv. 

“Our job was to win and we did it,” the Kilmurry boss says.

“We know there’s lots to work on before the next game. We are delighted to be in the Munster semi-final. The lads that came off the bench did really well and drove us on. Young Joe O’Mullane was excellent when he was introduced. All of the subs made a difference. You need a full panel to win these games. It was a panel effort.

“The last two weeks has been challenging. The first week was all about celebrating the county win and deservedly so. You have got to celebrate when you win silverware. These things don’t come around too often. They aren’t like Dublin buses, they don’t come around two or three at a time."

Kilmurry will look to make a third successive provincial decider after losing the last two finals when they meet Tipperary side Cashel King Cormacs in the semi-final in two weeks’ time at a Tipp venue.

“To be honest with you, I don’t know anything about Cashel King Cormacs. We will do our work on them now for the next two weeks. It will be a big challenge, that’s for sure. It’s like this, we will get back training during the week and train hard and see where it takes us.” Linehan concluded.