Duane buoyed for Hassig test
KANTURK roared out a defiant message of intent in their hopes of landing the hotly competitive County Premier IHC after an impressive performance dismantled the challenge of familiar rivals Charleville in the all North Cork quarter final.
Manager Donough Duane indicates, they aren’t wasting time in getting down to preparing for the next adventure on a tough assignment against Ballinhassig in Pairc Uí Rinn on Saturday evening.
So far so good for Kanturk in the campaign, bettering Charleville for the second occasion, the major difference between the sides surfaced in attack, Kanturk much sharper, inventive and capable of taking scores from any angle.
“Every player gave it his all for the full hour, its difficult to overcome the same team twice in a championship such as a well drilled side such as Charleville. We gave it every ounce, the attitude, hunger and discipline was spot on,” he said.
“It was only three weeks since we previously met, everybody knew what was expected, all 18 players delivered telling contributions. Having played with the strong breeze in the opening half, we had to be well positioned at the break and work hard to defend our seven points advantage.”
Indeed Kanturk were in the driving seat early in the second half, deficiencies within the Charleville defence were exposed when a long ball by Lorcán McLoughlin saw a deft touch from target man Aidan Walsh feed Liam O’Keeffe to fire to the Charleville net.
“That move is something we had worked in training, the full forward wins possession, a player working of his shoulder to grab a potential goal, it’s a move that’s very hard to defend,” he said.
Victory sets up Kanturk a place in the penultimate hurdle, a date with Ballinhassig and Duane is well aware of the task that lays ahead.
“We’re not getting carried away, its all about the next game, Ballinhassig will be a huge challenge in a semi final and we will have to prepare accordingly in our hope to reach a decider, that’s just one hour away but it will be a demanding test,” said Duane.
“This is the most competitive championship within the county, at the start of the campaign, it would be difficult to call with a number of genuine contenders capable of landing honours. It will be a massive job against Ballinhassig, a big physical and strong outfit, it will take at least as the same effort as the Charleville game if not more to get over the next hurdle,” he said.
“With the games coming fast, its all about recovery, resting and getting the game plan right. Really, it’s a case of going from scratch again and Kanturk are delighted to be in this position to be closing in on hopefully a final,” he said.