The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Mac’s golden touch
THE Beaufort man is one of the most respected coaches around and has an unparalleled record at post primary level, with two Corn Uí Mhuirí titles from four finals in the past five years to go along with two Hogan Cups (PS Chorca Dhuibhne had two different managers, Éamonn Fitzmaurice and Ciarán Ó Morain, in their record-breaking four Corn Uí Mhuirís and two Hogans). If anyone knows how to win a Corn Uí Mhuirí final, it’s him, but he also knows how formidable the task the task is going to be.
“We’d be very happy with our preparation. Look, the players have pre-Leaving Cert. Exams just now; it’s part of being a student. They have to prepare for their exams and that’s the focus for the next week.
“The final is coming at a good time for us because it’s at the end of the mid-term break so we can get together a few times during the week. The exams will be out of the way at that stage so we are very happy with our preparations so far.
“Our injuries are clearing up – Michael Lenihan had a nasty shoulder injury before the quarter-final and he managed to get through the semi-final, Pádraic Looney also managed to play with a broken knuckle. Otherwise we have a clean bill of health at the moment but look, that won’t come into it until closer to the game itself.
“When we saw the draw we realised that it was a real Kerry group, three Kerry schools and Críost Rí. I think Críost Rí are in a bit of a transition at the moment and are a bit behind the rest. The Killorglin game was always going to be a big one for us because it was the second game after beating Críost Rí.
“If we beat Killorglin, we had one foot in the quarter-final. We were happy with the win, we won by a few points on the day. I felt that we played quite well, it was just our finishing that let us down on the day.
“That was our aim at the start of the year, to get into a quarter-final and take things from there. In the Tralee CBS game, they got a goal and they went two points clear with about five minutes to go.
“We pushed on and we kicked three points – look, this team has shown incredible character, I keep saying it throughout the year. They don’t do panic. With five minutes to go they were still full of confidence, full of running, tackling hard, playing as well as they were at the start of the game.
“We seem to be slow to start, we kind of play ourselves into the game, hit our gear and take it on from there. But as I say, they don’t do panic. We were seven points down in the quarter-final at half-time.
“Any time you are going in seven points down against a good, strong, physical team in Flannans, it’s not looking good, but we played our way into the game in the second half. Fellas got their hands on the ball, kept it simple, kicked a few scores, and all of a sudden we were right back in it.”
The new playing rules in football have definitely been something McGrath has been cognisant of.
“The new rules are something we are conscious of,” McGrath says.
“But we don’t put a big emphasis on them in training. I think the new rules will find their way as the game goes on. They are very young and the rules are very new, everyone is finding their feet on them. I think referees have been very sensible so far in implementing the rules and it hasn’t impacted on us yet.
“I actually don’t think we have played a game in Killarney this year but look, that’s the way it goes. The final might be fixed for Killarney. Every game we’ve played this year, the weather has been really poor but again, we have no control over that. The pitches have been reasonable enough, quite good. We are just hoping that we get a nice day, a good sod, and we are able to express ourselves a little bit better.”
His views on the Green are as complimentary as you might expect.
“Tralee are very good,” he says. “Obviously we played them in Connolly Park and we only beat them by a point, that game could have gone either way. The lads would know them better than we would because they would have played them all up along with their clubs and their district boards.
“It’s an all-Kerry final, but every year it’s two different teams. It’s similar to minor in that there is such an exodus of players every year and new players coming in, so this is a new experience for a lot of our players, just as it is for Tralee. It’s an attractive fixture the day before Kerry play Meath so I’d expect a big crowd at it.
“It’s going to be a great game. Potentially it could be very attractive football. Last year we went to a replay with Corca Dhuibhne in the final, I wouldn’t rule out a draw in this one either. It will be very close.”