Cunningham praises ‘brilliant achievement’
KINAWLEY manager Mark Cunningham praised his side’s continuing hunger to win titles as they secured their fifth Fermanagh Championship crown in a row following victory over Derrygonnelly in another mammoth tussle between the sides at Brewster Park on Saturday night.
The Brian Borus came out on the right side of a tight two point encounter and Cunningham feels that it was nothing less than his players merited.
“It goes without saying it is a brilliant achievement for them as a group and it highlights their continuous appetite for success and it’s nothing less than they deserve,” said a delighted Cunningham.
The win came six days after Derrygonnelly had defeated Kinawley by a point in the Division One decider and the Kinawley boss says that their main focus in the period between the games was on taking their chances.
“As it was only a six-day turnaround, I wouldn’t say there was a whole lot of learnings we took from it (the league final). The big thing we focused on was taking our chances when they came and that was what made the difference this time around I feel.”
Cunningham also praised Derrygonnelly and he believes that the Brian Borus will be in a better position now for having had those two tough challenges.
“It was a very similar game to the league final however conditions were more favourable and it led to a faster game. Derrygonnelly are a formidable opposition and they presented us with a very strong challenge as we knew they would.
“I think we will improve from the games over the last two weeks. It’s no secret that we have only played five league and championship games in total all season which has been difficult.”
With Fermanagh now in the bag, Ulster is next up for Kinawley as they make the step up to the senior championship. Augher St Macartans will provide the opposition on October 22 and Cunningham says that they will be going out to give it their best shot.
“The girls have obviously competed at Intermediate level over the last number of years so, of course, it will be a step up in the quality of opposition.
“You are playing the top clubs in the province but it’s where you want to be. We have a lot of young girls who will benefit from this experience and we will play with a lot of heart.
“It’s a bit of a step into the unknown but we will give it a good crack, I reckon.”
Although they finished up on the losing side, Harps manager Garry Smyth was proud of the efforts of his side and felt the game as a whole was a great advertisement for ladies football.
“I was immensely proud of the team as the level of performance was right up there,” he said.
“There are always going to be mistakes during a game but overall the quality and intensity of Saturday’s final was a fine example of what Ladies football has to offer as a spectacle, just as the Division One League final was the previous week. It was a boost to have the Ladies Final played in Brewster
Park to give the Ladies football the platform it merits.”
Smyth also felt that Kinawley managed the game well in the closing stages and he wished them well for the upcoming Ulster Senior Club campaign.
Kinawley’s game management, particularly in the last quarter was very good. Niamh Mcmanus took her scores well when introduced and as unit they always pose a threat up front.
“Kinawley have depth and in particular experience in their squad which they used to see the game out. Five county titles in a row is a fine achievement so congratulations to them.
“It is a positive step for the development of Ladies Football in the county to have representation in the Ulster Senior Club Championship so I wish Kinawley well in their preparations for that.”
He did though feel that some decisions did not go his side’s way on the day.
“So much of football is about opinions on situations which come up during a game, and on the day I felt there were some big calls which did not go our way,” he added.
The Harps will have to put the defeat behind them quickly as their attention now turns to the Intermediate Championship and a clash with Newtownbutler this Sunday.
“There is great spirit within our own group, as they showed last Saturday, so we will look to reset and go again in the Intermediate Championship .
“There is no time to dwell on last weekend’s result as we can expect a tough challenge from a Newtownbutler team who are well organised under Chris Moore. Our players are looking forward to getting back out on the pitch in Belnaleck this Sunday,” he concluded.