‘We were very lucky’
CURRAHA manager Stephen Morgan was a mightily relieved man at the final whistle after his team eked out the narrowest of victories over Louth standard-bearers O’Connell’s in their Leinster Club IFC clash last Saturday.
He witnessed his charges play well short of their best in Castlebellingham, but they still came out on top to earn a place in the semi-final.
‘Very relieved to come out of here with the win,’ Morgan said afterwards. ‘When you go to a club’s home ground, its different than a county ground - you know it is going to be tight.
‘You have that inkling that referees and everything is on the home side and that is the way it worked out. We are very lucky to get out of here with a win. We played very poorly in the opening half, along with O’Connell’s not allowing us to play.
‘A couple of goals in the second half left a bit of breathing space between us, but very lucky to get out of here with the win.
‘We were fortunate not to be further behind at the break. Winning an Intermediate title for the first time there were celebrations and different things afterwards, but they didn’t last too long. We were back training on the Wednesday after the final, but it can take time to come down from such a high and get back on an even keel.
‘Some came back down to earth quicker than others and that was a kind of a hangover performance in a sense from some players.
‘Everything went pretty well for us in the county final, but O’Connell’s had a different system to St Michael’s, they play very defensive and that can be hard to break down.’
Double goalscorer Andrew Battersby was a doubtful starter, according to Morgan, and might not have been on the pitch for the second half.
‘Fair play to Andrew Battersby, he has been out of action since the Intermediate final with swollen glands and a chest infection. I didn’t think he would have the energy today, I said to him is the tank empty and he said no. I didn’t believe him and then he pops up with two goals.
‘He is a great young player, full of energy and full of running.
‘At half-time we knew we could play a lot better. We played against teams in Meath that set up defensively with 12 and 13 players behind the ball. We knew what we had to do - we just weren’t doing it.
‘We got that message across at half-time, the lads knew what to do, they used their heads and got the goals that made the difference.
‘The aim was to come out at the start of the second half and hit a thunderbolt and get everyone thinking and change the game, and that is what happened.
‘We held onto the ball well after taking the lead - the lads are very good at holding onto possession. We try to keep the scoreboard ticking over and keep a bit of distance between our opponents.
‘We just about got over the line to be honest.’
Curraha will have to wait until this coming weekend to find out their semi-final opponents after extra time failed to separate Ballyboughal (Dublin) and Emo (Laois) in one of the other quarter-final ties.
That game has been refixed for the Dublin venue this Saturday at 2pm, with the winners having home advantage against Curraha in a last-four clash on Saturday November 18th. The final is scheduled for the following Saturday, November 25th.
THE Oskars 2017 Committee, are happy to announce that the Oskars 2017 event raised €42,340.
This amount, less a donation to Duleek Meals and Wheels, will go directly to the Building Fund for the Duleek, Bellewstown and District Community Facility.
The donation to Meals and Wheels was chosen as it supports two of the pillars of the Community Facility’s structure and constitution, that of ‘Community’ and care of ‘the Aged’.
The Duleek, Bellewstown and District Community Facility Management Committee would like to sincerely thank all those involved in what was a truly community effort and event.
They would also like to remind people that the Oskars 2017 DVD will be launched on Friday November 24th in the Greyhound Bar, Duleek, at 8pm.
Club fixtures FRIDAY NOVEMBER 10