Herlihy delighted with how “ambitious” group rose to the St Flannans challenge

IT was a great week both on and off the field for Kieran Herlihy as he became a father for the second time while also guiding St Brendans College to a second Frewen Cup in four years in the space of the six days leading up to last Wednesday and The Sem manager agreed that the final scoreline was slightly misleading to the overall nature of the game.

“It was a battle, nearly every fifty-fifty ball was contested and we were delighted with how the boys rose to the challenge they received from St Flannans today,” the Spa clubman said. Patience was the key to the Sem’s success according to Herlihy.

“We weren’t happy with the pace with which we moved the ball in the first half but we were very happy with how we responded to their goal in getting one ourselves almost instantly which shows great character as well. The pressure we put on their kick-outs in the second half was something that paid off for us,” he said.

Herlihy wasn’t keen to give out too much individual praise but did mention one player in particular as well as praising last Wednesday’s hosts. “That there is someone new doing it for us in every game is encouraging but I thought Dylan O’Callaghan (scorer of three points) really stood out today because he was injured beforehand and had very little work done with the knock he was carrying. Duagh were great to take the game and the pitch was ideal for this time of year. Ted Halpin from here son’s John was a student in The Sem so we were very grateful to them in allowing us to get the match played,” Herlihy said of the north Kerry club.

The focus quickly turns to the Paul McGirr Cup now with All-Ireland success the next challenge for this present group after success in their county and province. Herlihy’s thoughts are much more on the present this Saturday.

“This is a fairly ambitious group and being the first side from the school to win the Paul McGirr Cup after the Hogan Cup successes would be a great achievement but we’re only thinking about trying to get over St Pats first and foremost.”