‘We’re going to enjoy these two weeks’

MORE fool us for thinking East Kerry might have been in something of a transition period this year.

Having lost their Kilcummin contingent – who were central to what they did this time last year – we imagined it might take East Kerry a little time to get back fully up to speed again. Instead of taking a step back before taking a step forward, however, Jerry O’Sullivan’s men have hardly broken stride at all.

As a matter of fact they’ve gone one better, through to a first county final in twenty years. The man on the line for them last weekend, Jerry O’Sullivan, was togged for East Kerry on that occasion so he knows all about the significance of what he and his players have achieved so far this year.

“It’s excellent, it’s brilliant, getting to county finals,” the East Kerry manager enthused.

“I was involved with East Kerry in 1999 the last time we got to a county final I was stuck on the panel that day, a bit part players I suppose, but having said that it’s brilliant to be there. The next couple of weeks are going to be brilliant around Killarney and the surrounding areas whoever we get whether it’s Crokes or South Kerry, but look we’re there and I can say no more other than it’s brilliant.

“We’re going to enjoy these two weeks. It’s going to be a novelty for us as a management team being involved in a senior final. None of us has been involved before we were there with the Under 21s, but even the players it’s going to be a novelty for them as well.

“We’re going to prepare hard for whoever we’re going to play, we’re going to give a good account of ourselves.”

The experience of being at this stage a year ago was central to this East Kerry victory over a St Brendans side playing in their first county semi-final in twenty seven years.

“Experience is brilliant and we had the experience of getting to a semi-final last year and trying to grind it out we were in the position that

Brendans were in today,” O’Sullivan continued.

“Most of those fellas have the experience of a bit of hurt last year and when it was tight there towards the finish they were able to battle away there hard. We won a few dirty balls around the middle and won a few frees.

“It is [character] and we had that bit of experience to get those extra few scores. I think they brought it back to one point two or three times. They never got ahead of us or they never levelled with us I think so it was pleasing from that point of view that we were able to go up the field and get those scores.”

St Brendans came fully locked and loaded, ready and willing able to knock East Kerry aside unless O’Sullivan and his men were fully tuned in.

“I was under no illusions here that this game was going to be anything different than what it turned out to be,” he said.

“When you’re in a county semi-final you’re going to die in your boots outside there. St Brendans put up a massive battle and to be fair it could have turned out any way there at the end, a ball into the back of the net or anything like that, but our fellas battled away and we got a couple of scores at the finish and that put a little bit of daylight between us with the last couple of scores, but look it was a titanic battle.”

O’Sullivan was in no way surprised by the way St Brendans managed to come back against them time and again.

“Six points they were down against Legion, I knew that St Brendans were going to battle to the end. They’ve got a great backroom team, all the boys, Seamus Murphy, and they’ve put an awful lot of work into them in the last couple of years,” he said.

A final word on the man of the match, the man who delivered nine points from nine shots at goal, seven from play.

“In any interviews I give in relation to David Clifford I always say David is David and he does his thing, but David can’t do his thing unless there’s fellas supplying him with the ball and I thought we were excellent from one to fifteen and the boys that came on.”

You can’t say fairer than that. Clifford is the man for sure. Just not the only man. East Kerry will take stopping in a week anda-half’s

time.