The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Strong second half key says Milltown boss Fitzmaurice
Milltown / Castlemaine boss Paul Fitzmaurice was pleased that his men got over the line in nip and tuck contest with Laune Rangers
THE OVERALL standard of football was the main topic of conversation on everybody’s lips after Sunday’s Mid Kerry SFC Final, and victorious Milltown / Castlemaine manager Paul Fitzmaurice instantly credited host venue Glenbeigh for that situation.
“We can contribute our brilliant victory and the brilliant game of football to the conditions. It is a fantastic surface here in Glenbeigh. Huge credit is due to them,” he said.
“Who could have predicted that we would have those conditions on the first of December? You wouldn’t get it in the month of June. That’s what added to the whole spice of the game.
“There was a very good scoring return rate, especially in the first half. There was a real pattern to the play. Whoever was going to get the kick-out was going to get the score. We spoke about that in the dressing room at half-time, the more kick-outs we could win, the more of a threat we could cause. There was a huge improvement there in the second half,” he added.
Fitzmaurice admitted that Cathal Moriarty’s goals for his side, and the sending-off of Laune Rangers’ Shane McSweeney, were factors that influenced the end result.
“It’s a tradition that Milltown / Castlemaine have had of carrying the ball, but what we tried to do was kicking the ball more. It frees things up so much. By doing that, we just opened up gaps and it did work for us today.
“I didn’t actually see what happened with the second yellow card. It had a bearing on the game, no doubt about that, but at the same time, it was nip and tuck, hammer and tongs and it was always going to go down to the wire anyway. We’re a very young team but we also have stalwarts there, the likes of Damian Murphy. He deserves a
special mention. He deserves a lot of credit for his service to Milltown down through the years. I won’t say he’s worth his weight in gold, that would be a lot of gold! But it’s great to see him bow out like that today.”
The Milltown / Castlemaine bainisteoir also had words of praise for key figures, Pa Wrenn and Cathal Moriarty.
“Pa has to be up there with the most consistent player I have ever come across in my coaching career. Cathal is the ultimate goal poacher. When he’s on his game, you can’t get a hand on him. He’s so elusive, good on the ball, always thinking two steps ahead.”
Laune Rangers manager Timmy Fleming was understandably gutted to be on the receiving end of a one-point defeat.
“I’m heartbroken really for the team because they have put in a serious amount of effort. The only thing is that they are a young team and the future is bright for them if they stick at it. But, in saying that, if I said that to them this minute, they would say to forget about it for a while,” he said.
“It was a very good game. I’d say going down a man was the difference at the very end. I actually didn’t see the second yellow card to be honest. The boys gave it their all but we lacked a small bit of composure in front of goal in the second half. We maybe started going for goals a bit too early. We should have picked off a few more points, especially with just one point in it at the end.
“We did so much work over the last twleve months that we knew the stamina was there to last the game. Probably lacking that bit of experience up front. But I won’t take that away from Milltown. They came and they did the job. Goals win matches. That was the difference,” stressed the former Kerry player.
It was nip and tuck, hammer and tongs and it was always going to go down to the wire anyway – Paul Fitzmaurice