‘I’m delighted for the young lads’

AFTER seeing his side turn in a magnificent second-half performance to beat Clara Gaels in the under-20 ‘B’ football championship final, Blessington coach Peter Behan has praised the commitment and attitude that his players demonstrated in the decider.

Having been level with Clara 1-5 to 0-8 at half-time, Sean Mescall and Sean Price scored a pair of goals as Blessington scored 2-9 in the second-half to romp home and win the under-20 championship.

In the midst of the post-match celebrations, manager Peter Behan made sure to credit his players with showing the discipline and energy to turn the game on its head.

‘I’m delighted for the young lads,’ he said. following the game.

‘We’ve had them all year and over the past few years, since they were under-16, under-17, under-18. To get something at the end of it was great for them. It was a tough enough game in the first-half, but after half-time we came out and took control.

‘The couple of quick goals killed them off, really. A lot of them played in the Junior ‘A’ Championship, and it stood to them out there. It finished the year off well for them.’

Reflecting on the way in which his team turned in the title-winning second-half performance, Behan said that it was a case of his players distributing possession at a quicker pace and with more urgency.

‘[The message] was just to keep the ball moving. We were taking the ball into the tackle in the first-half and we were getting mopped up and losing the ball.

In the second-half, they moved the ball well. We got a couple of very good goals, and could have got another couple, but that’s football for you.

‘They were great in the second-half. They did everything that we asked of them.’

Clara Gaels were anchored in the first-half by the performance Oisin McGraynor, among others, and it was his loss in influence in the second that helped Blessington on their way to victory.

While quick to praise McGraynor and his Gaels teammates as athletes, Behan lauded several of his own individual performers for their showings throughout the contest.

‘Young McGraynor is a fantastic young footballer, and Clara have a few very good players, but we’ve some fine footballers as well.

‘Eoin Higgins is a fine footballer; I thought he and Conall (Ó Gallchobhair) were brilliant today. Kevin Quinn wasn’t well today, he was sick and we nursed him through it, but he is still a great presence for us. The two Seans -- Mescall and Price -- did them a lot of damage.’

Behan’s thoughts on the game were not too dissimilar to the articulation of captain Brian Bohan, who offered similar praise for his teammates in his celebratory speech.

‘It was a great game. It was touch-and-go for a while; level at half-time. Lads, you (Clara Gaels) gave it your all, but the better team won on the day.

‘I want to say thanks to Peter (Behan), Stephen Doyle, Eoin Phibbs, and anyone else who helped out.

‘Thanks to everyone who came out and played the final, you did brilliant.’