This article is from page 112 of the 2009-05-12 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 112 JPG
THE mountain may be in their way, but Clare will travel to Tralee on Wednesday with their climbing gear ready for action. Half of the starting 15 come from outside the traditional Western belt of football in Clare and as such, the green and gold jersey on its home patch should hold less fear.
“We’ve a confident bunch of play- ers and we’ve a Serious carrot dan- eling in front of us in that if we can beat Kerry, we’ll be playing football for the summer,’ says manager Colm Collins. “The bottom line from our perspective is that our lads go out and put in a performance that does justice to the dedication they’ve shown so far and to the talent that we know they have.”
That talent of which Collins speaks was seen most vividly in a stun- ning second-half performance in the opening round of the Munster championship against Waterford in Dungarvan. Clare showed heart and ability to see off the home side on a notoriously difficult ground to get a Kone 0 |
“Tt’s crucial to have that win under our belts,’ continues Collins. “For a couple of years the work was be- ing put in but the results just weren’t coming. So the Waterford game was good for morale and not just because we won, but because we put a decent score on the board.”
Since then, preparations have con- tinued for the Munster champion- ship, despite the encroachment of exams. And injuries have also begun to improve.
Collins confirmed that Micheal Malone, Seamus Lynch, Aidan Malone, Conor King and Jan Lyons are all on the bench for Wednesday evening’s game and are fit to play if called upon.
‘There’s no doubt that this is going to be a big step up for us. But our lads feel they’re as good as anybody else and that’s half the battle.”