IAFC final: Flor O'Driscoll targets improvement as Ilen Rovers take on Ballinora in replay

Ilen Rovers manager Flor O’Driscoll admits his team will have to improve if they are to overcome Ballinora this weekend.

The two sides played out a draw in the McCarthy Insurance Group IAFC final 12 days ago at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh.

The replay will take place on Sunday at the same venue (1.30pm).

Neil Lordan came to Ballinora’s rescue in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time nearly a fortnight ago after Ilen breached the three-up rule and he scored a two-point free to level the game, 0-15 to 2-9.

“Initially, it was mixed emotions,” O’Driscoll says when reflecting on the drawn encounter.

“It was really hard to explain straight after the game. After a couple of days, we got back to training and everyone is focused and ready for the replay on Sunday.

“The heads are clear. We are over the emotional part of last Sunday week. It’s back to business now and it’s all about putting in a 60-minute performance again.

"I thought the attitude and application was fantastic from the lads as has been the case all year.

“Secondly, there are elements to our game that we would have liked to have done better in the drawn game. It wasn’t our best performance.

“But the third part and one of the reasons why we didn’t play as well as we would have liked is because how good Ballinora are. They have some high-quality players and they showed that the last day.” 

O’Driscoll and his players are looking for a first adult county football championship title since 2003. They certainly brought a large crowd up from West Cork nearly a fortnight ago.

“If we want to win on Sunday, we will have to show improvement,” the Ilen Rovers boss said.

“The support we received going into the drawn game was fabulous. They were all so supportive and full of encouragement, so we will need them again this time around.

“We really appreciate the fantastic support we have gotten all year.

“Very often people expect the replay to follow a similar pattern from the first game. A replay can be totally different.

“It’s just important to work on all of our phases of the game and make sure we can execute those things as best as we can.

“I would expect, like every game we have played this year, that it will be close. In our six championship games, we have had three draws over the 60 minutes.

“I definitely think it will come down to the last few minutes, after that it will depend on a number of factors.

“We have kept going to the end this year and it has stood to us. You have to be realistic as well and Ballinora have been quite similar too.

“The two teams will keep going right until the final whistle and hopefully we can be on the right side of the scoreline.” O’Driscoll concluded.