Daire Holland: 'Decision-making won it for us' as Inniscarra push through to Premier JFC quarter-finals

Inniscarra manager Daire Holland praised his side’s resilience, discipline and decision-making after they secured a place in the knockout stages of the McCarthy Insurance Group Premier JFC.

The Muskerry outfit recorded a fully earned 3-11 to 1-10 victory over Glenville in Friday night’s winner-takes-all Group 2 clash in Ovens.

Qualification was the central objective, and Holland made no attempt to dress that up.

“In any given year, the first thing you want to do is avoid relegation. The next thing you want to do is qualify,” he said. 

“Ideally straight to a semi-final, but qualifying is the big thing. It’s our second year in the grade and we’re out of the group again.” 

They were made work for it. Inniscarra endured a slow start: after 12 minutes they trailed 0-5 to 0-1.

“After the slow start, we controlled the game,” Holland says.

“I don’t know why we started so poorly, maybe a bit of a carryover from the hurlers last week. Training was good coming into this, but these championship games test you. It was just the manner in which they responded.” 

The goals proved decisive. Two of them gave Inniscarra a five-point buffer at half-time, a cushion that allowed them to settle into their shape and play with more composure.

The complexion changed again when Dan O’Connell picked up a second yellow card, leaving Inniscarra down a man for the majority of the second half. Holland’s pride in how his team handled that period was unmistakable.

“Huge credit to them,” he states.

“The manner in which they responded to that situation… they put their shoulders to the wheel and worked for each other. That’s all we ever ask them to do.

“Glenville had their purple patch and went up a point, but we had belief in our lads. We finished up with big scores from the likes of Seán McCarthy and Liam O’Connor. We brought on Seán O’Donoghue too.

“We are just managing him as he has a knock — exceptional footballers, intelligent footballers those lads are. We had the right man on the ball at the right time, and generally speaking they made the right decisions, which led to scores and ended the game.”

Attention now turns to the knockout stages, with a two-week break before facing Millstreet, a side they met in last year’s group stages — a game Inniscarra won by six points.

Holland expects a different challenge this time around but sees a significant opportunity ahead for his team.

“There wasn’t a whole pile in it last year. But it’s a different team that we have now, a few new faces, and I’m sure they’re in the same boat. It’s all to play for now, and it’s a massive carrot — a chance to get into the county semi-final is a huge opportunity for us.

“There’s nothing easy. You need things going in your favour, and you need to make your own success.”