Fitzgerald delight at first title
EPHIE Fitzgerald has taken his first Munster Crown as manager of the all-conquering Ladies Cork Football squad.
Last Sunday evening in Killarney his side took back the Munster crown from a Kerry side hell-bent on retaining the honour they won this time last year.
“I felt that the free Kerry missed before half time was a crucial point in the game. It seemed to knock their confidence a bit and then they missed a few shots just before the break.
“For us I thought we coped well with the conditions and we learned a lot from the game in Macroom a few weeks ago. That day we went in four or five points ahead and Kerry came flying out after the break and took control.
“We knew it was really important to get the second half off to a good start and the girls made a promise to go at it for the first 15 minutes and see where would be at there. When we got the first few scores and then Rena put away the penalty it was really all over at that stage. We kept going from there on which was important.
“We have had some really tough games this year already which hopefully will stand to us going forward. The last few games in the league were must win games after a few early losses and then the game against Mayo was every bit as tough as a championship game.
“Now we have had a few really hard games with Kerry so on that front we are really happy.
“It all starts again from here now as we all head into the All-Ireland series and the games will just get tougher from here on in. Kerry are one of the top sides in the country and I am sure we will meet them again before this year’s championship is over.”
Fitzgerald will be delighted with the way his team bounced back after that loss in Macroom, while unfortunately for everyone else it looks like this particular Cork side have no intention of calling it a day anytime soon.