The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Rooney hopes Na Gaeil can continue on upward curve
WHILE their trip to the 2012 decider for the Con Brosnan Cup might have surprised a lot of people, you get the sense Na Gaeil return here with a lot stronger foundations due to some great underage work being done by the club now starting to bear fruition.
Team manager Donal Rooney admitted as much when asked about the club’s strong year on a lot of fronts in 2016.
“We didn’t have the panel a couple of years ago to sustain a run like we did to the final that year [2012]. Historically now even the club are only starting to get the benefit of standard coaching.
“I remember playing for the club underage and the difficultly we would have getting people to look after teams, it’s a lot more structured and resourceful now thankfully,” the manager of the Tralee side said.
The club’s more immediate goals for this campaign were in the County League however.
“Getting out of Division 4 was our big aim. You need to be higher up the County League if you want to do well in the Championship. We still found it very competitive though and it was of benefit in getting us to this point,” Rooney said.
After Cromane and Ballymacelligott were accounted for early on came the performances that have made people sit up and take notice of Na Gaeil, namely the wins over Annascaul and Listowel Emmets.
“We did have home advantage for the win over Annascaul, but I wouldn’t say the manner in which we beat Listowel flattered us in any way. We had three months to prepare for that game and we were very happy with how the performance came off overall on the day,” he said.
Rooney agrees that Glenbeigh / Glencar are the side who are going to be talked about more by neutrals in advance considering their recent history.
“When the initial draw is made, they are the one team that everyone wants to avoid. They have been the standard for every team at this level in recent years and I thought it was a bit of a freak thing for them last year to end up in a Final against a side like Templenoe and come out on the losing side,” he said of Sunday’s opposition.
When it comes to the match possibly being a case of the Mid Kerry side’s heartache coming up against Na Gaeil’s progress, Rooney thinks what had happened before will count for little.
“Other things don’t count for much when the ball is thrown. It’s only about trying to win a football match first and foremost. Our players have got great experience of big encounters between playing with their schools and the Kerry Minors so we hope that be of benefit to us. It was great to secure promotion in the County League but this would be a massive bonus for the club were we to pull it off on Sunday.”
With a pretty much clean bill of health you would rule out Na Gaeil being the latest side to add to Glenbeigh / Glencar’s woes, despite three divisions separating them this year in League terms.
I remember playing underage and the difficulty we would have. It’s a lot more structured and resourceful now