Better side won admits gracious Johns’ boss Murphy

HOPES of a first time silverware for St Johns vanished on the longest day of the year when relenting to Lough Rovers close to the banks of the river Lee.

The youngest club in Duhallow and Cork sought a historic breakthrough, they didn’t go down without a major battle but as they game aged, they seldom functioned without great conviction going forward.

Bitter disappointment all round for St Johns yet team coach Jimmy Murphy was gracious to accept that the better side prevailed.

“Everybody is gutted for the boys, the effort put in over the past year and a half has been ferocious. Still Lough Rovers were strong and committed in the key positions, particularly in the half back line and the centre where it mattered most and their experience surfaced,” he said.

Early in the game, St Johns looked well placed to write a new name into the script, performing with a tempo suggesting they were ready for anything Lough Rovers threw at them.

“We had a great start, jumping 0-5 to 0-1 ahead but for some reason, we lost our momentum, maybe the concession of the goal before half time took the wind out of our sails.

“St Johns needed to keep playing, perhaps nerves came into it, in a tight game, we missed out on a number of chances, nothing came of an effort that came back off the crossbar, those small things cost us at the end of the day,” said Murphy.

The outcome was tough on St John’s who had enough possession and chances to make a winning debut but over elaboration and poor shooting at timed ultimately cost them. However, all’s not lost for St Johns, Murphy hopeful of a response in domestic competition within Duhallow.

“It’s important to pick up the boys, we need to regroup, that will earn our corn on getting the players together again. There is plenty of football in St Johns, they just have to believe in themselves; if that’s forthcoming, we’re capable of collecting a league or championship, maybe both in the next few months,” the manager said.