‘Savage character’ is the key for Coolkenno
THE ability to bounce back from making mistakes during games and their young players maturing are the reasons why Coolkenno manager Stevie Cushe believes is side are facing Donard-The Glen in the Darcy Sand Intermediate Football Championship final this Sunday afternoon in Aughrim.
Coolkenno have emerged from some seriously tough and tight games in this championship campaigns and Cushe says that it’s character that brings them through time and time again.
‘Serious stuff all year. One thing Is for sure they don’t do it easy. It’s hard standing on the sideline with these lads at times. But, look, they have savage character. I think that’s the one thing that’s getting them through these matches, that’s character. I had no doubt that they were going to keep going until the final whistle last Saturday and they did that.
‘They played very well in patches (against Kilcoole) and then kind of got lost on themselves. We made a few mistakes but it’s always a good sign when you can come back from them mistakes. I don’t think they would have come back from them mistakes last year but we are coming back from them this year. They’re making mistakes and then coming back.
‘I think the 15-minute spell after the first water break, we played really, really well. The first 15 minutes weren’t so good and then a bit sketchy in the last 15 minutes but particularly good in that second 15-miute spell.
‘It’s hard to know (the difference this year towards last year). You look at the young lads and they’re starting to mature a bit more. We were probably expecting too much of them last year and you’ve the likes of Eoghan Dolan, Pauric Murray, Niall Bailey, they’re all starting to come into themselves. James Gregan leading from the back, Adam O’Neill, his first year back after being away for a while, they’re all starting to add a bit to the team. That’s very important.
‘I think Coolkenno especially (expecting too much from their young players), because we’ve such short numbers that the lads expect the young lads to turn it on straight away. You have to be patient. I suppose the bigger clubs can wait for a while and blend them in whereas we have to throw them in straight away,’ said Stevie.
This is Cushe’s second year as manager but his third stint overall having taken charge as a player when he injured his back, then again in 2013 and then last year for his third spell. The affable Coolkenno legend says there’s no club you’d rather train than your own.
‘It’s not so much an interview job in Coolkenno. It’s more a case of ‘will you do it?’ I played with all these lads. The young lads, I knew them when they were coming to the field. There’s no club you’d rather train than you own,’ he said.
In Donard-The Glen, Coolkenno face a team and a club very much like their own. A small, rural area. Population dwindling, society changing but a club that gives their all when it comes to events on or off the field.
‘We played them twice last year. In the league we bet them by a few points and then they bet us up in Ballinakill,’ said Stevie.
‘Look, with Donard, I expect nothing other than a ding-dong battle. They’re like ourselves, they’re a small parish club, lots of heart, lots of heart. I was impressed with them against Carnew. They worked really hard, I thought they were solid and well balanced. Their scores were coming from four or five different players rather than just one or two. We’ll have our work cut out.
‘Their forwards line was very good last week, I thought they moved very well, lots of pace. Midfield is strong. Half-back line is good, centre-back controlled the game for them. I thought they were good overall. Listen, we’re in there, and we’ll give it our best shot,’ he said.
Given the population situation in Coolkenno and surrounding areas, Stevie Cushe is refreshingly honest about the ultimate aim of winning the Intermediate crown. It’s the immediate hit of the savage uplift the win would give the community rather than some stepping stone to a Senior crown.
‘Winning the title would mean more to us rather than going back Senior to be honest. Giving the area a lift. We know we’re a small area and we don’t have much coming through in terms of underage. There’s a bit of a gap there. So, I think winning the title would mean more to us that the Senior status,’ he said.
A touch championship campaign will come to a close on Sunday afternoon with either Jim Cushe and Eoghan Dolan accepting the cup or with a proud club taking a breath and beginning anew.
One thing is for sure, Coolkenno won’t fear a tough game and if it comes down to heart, they won’t be found wanting,
‘Tough, tough games all the way through (this cammpaign). I think any of the games could have went either way. It’s the courage and the heart that some of them showed this year, particularly against Carnew when we went down to 14 men. And Carnew had beaten us for the last two years so they could easily have dropped the heads but they drove on. That was a big massive plus for us,’ he added.