This article is from page 70 of the 2011-03-29 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 70 JPG
THE CLARE footballers completed their home schedule with a much needed victory on Sunday as they rallied to fend off an eager yet wasteful promotion chasing Longford side. It was a more determined than stylish display, with just two scorers and only managing one point in the second half but manager Micheál McDermott was happy with the attitude and application of the players following on from last week’s decisive defeat at the hands of Roscommon.
“I’m delighted that we came out on the right side of a victory and we probably didn’t play well. We played well for the first ten or twelve minutes, then went out of it and came into as well in the second half for a while and then went out it again.
“Longford in fairness kicked a lot of bad wides and they did us a favour today but the rub of the green went our way today and that’s why we got the two points. We said after last Sunday that we were going to give a wholehearted performance for the rest of the league and that whoever we played were not going to be promoted because of us and that’s what we set out our stall for today. The ef- fort, the workrate and the intensity of the lads out there today, it’s a credit to them. They worked to a standstill and they were just out on their legs at the end and you could see that with a couple of minutes left because they worked so hard. They deserve a break and they got that break today to get those two points.
“They knew last Sunday that they left away a victory and promotion and with the attitude in training on Tuesday and Thursday night, I knew coming in here today that we were going to win. They were so switched on and so focused because they are actually playing better football this year than last year in patches and probably not getting the results.
“Last year we would probably have played worse and won by a point but this year they’re actually making progress on the quality of football and not getting the results. But Tuesday night there was such an intensity in training and they really wanted to put things right because this was the last game at home this year and they wanted to give a performance for whatever Clare public was here.
“Listen the public will only come out and support you when you are actually playing good football and winning. We know that and that’s what we are trying to do but they gave a great performance at times of character and heart and you look at the Irish [soccer] team last night and people will say poor game but they showed grit and determination to win it and we were the same there today”
Next up for Clare is a perilous trip to Fermanagh that McDermott is actuely aware of. “Fermanagh are in a little bit of disarray at the moment but whatever disarray is there will be sorted by next Sunday and they will be out to put a backlash on somebody but we have to concentrate on our own game and we have to improve on our second half performance. It’s important that we go up away from home next week and get another two points because we said these three games are about building for the championship and this is where it started today. We know we are not the finished article by a long shot but we are working hard on it and hopefully the improvement will come.”