It didn’t go to plan admits Kiskeam manager Reen
MANAGER Denis Reen pulled no punches as he reflected on Kiskeam’s defeat, admitting they were beaten by a far better team on the day.
He said it was obviously disappointing for the players, but he insisted they can look back on the year with considerable pride, given their achievement in winning the county premier intermediate title.
“If the lads been told at the start of the season, they’d be going up senior next year, I’m sure they’d have been delighted to settle for that, so today was meant to be a bonus for us.
“Unfortunately, it didn’t go according to plan, but we can have no complaints, because Adare were excellent, they outplayed us everywhere, and they fully deserved to get to a Munster final,” he remarked.
Reen said he wasn’t surprised that Adare performed so impressively, revealing he had watched them in a challenge game last week, and he knew they were a very formidable outfit.
“It wasn’t as if we weren’t prepared for a tough battle, so we can have no excuses on that score. We can have no regrets either, because we gave it our best shot, which is all you can do in any game, but, as I’ve said, Adare were far superior all over the pitch, and we are under no illusions about that,” he stressed.
Reen remains optimistic about what the future has in store for Kiskeam, although he isn’t sure if he’ll be at the helm when they take the step up to senior ranks next year.
“My contract was for a oneyear term, and this isn’t the time or place to be discussing my future with the team. What I will say is these lads are a joy to work with, and, whether I’m involved or not, I’m convinced they won’t be out of their depth operating at senior level.
“Just to get there for a club from such a small parish is a phenomenal achievement, it was our main target this year, and all these lads can keep their head up, now that they have a county medal in the pocket.
“This team lost only one game in the past six months, and I’m in no doubt they’ll take this defeat on the chin and move on from here with a spring in their step.”
Reen felt it was a measure of Kiskeam’s character that, despite being outplayed for long periods, they were still in with a chance as the contest drew to a close.
“Maybe we went chasing a goal a bit too early, and I thought we should have tipped the ball over the bar a few times in the last quarter. But the reality is Adare could have been five or six points up at half-time, they missed about three goals over the hour, and only for our goalie Anthony Casey,who had a great game, they’d have been home and dry long before the finish,” he concluded.