Manager delighted that St. Mary's rose to occasion in Munster championship

It was a big occasion at Clonmel Sportsfield on Sunday. The pitch was in immaculate condition, the sun was shining despite it being the first day of November, and a huge crowd attended for the Munster Club clash between St Mary’s and Ballincollig. There was an air of anticipation and excitement not often experienced at the venue.

All that was needed was a big performance from the home side to maintain the impressive form that had seen them win the County Premier Intermediate title, and with it a place in senior ranks next season.

But Munster is different to county, and St Mary’s manager Fergal Condon might have been a little unsure about how his team would perform on an even bigger stage than they had experienced to date.

However, he needn’t have worried. Despite a nervy finish, when Ballincollig battled bravely to get back into contention, St Mary’s were the better team throughout.

“I’m absolutely delighted”, Condon said in the aftermath.

“It’s a big deal to play a Munster championship game, and to play it at home. And it’s bigger than just the game, when you look at the crowd and everything involved.

“We really wanted to put on a good show and give a good representation of ourselves, and I feel we did that. We were hoping that the team would deliver and, thankfully, that’s what happened”.

The former dual star referenced times when playing with Clonmel Commercials in Munster when things hadn’t always gone to plan despite high hopes.

“You can only hope that you’re going to win, but as long as you give a good performance and bring the county form into the game, that’s the most important thing. If you do that then you have a good chance of winning and that’s what we did”, he said.

Condon also pointed out that many of his players had suffered the county football final defeat with Commercials two weeks earlier and they had to overcome that disappointment.

“It’s not all plain sailing, but we have a brilliant group of players and that’s what it comes down to. We are very fortunate at the moment with such an exceptional panel of players”.

And that full panel proved its value against Ballincollig. St Mary’s brought on Thomas Charles, Michael Murphy, Ross Peters, Joe Higgins and Josh Ryan off the bench and all contributed, none more than Charles who scored 0-3 from play. Missing on the day were goalkeeper Enda Dunphy, injured in the county final win over Killenaule, and Conor Deely – described by Condon as “a mainstay of the team” – who was injured around the quarter-final stage.

“We’re in a very healthy position as we have lads itching to come on and play. It’s a headache for us but also brilliant”, he added.

He felt that the team should have been further ahead coming down the final stretch when they had to withstand a spirited revival from Ballincollig.

“But our defence was outstanding, with Seamus (Kennedy) leading at the heart of it. We knew when they had players like Brian Keating coming on that it would be difficult, but then when you see what James Morris brings to our side, we are very fortunate to have that”, he stated.

Next up is the semi-final clash with Abbeydorney at a Kerry venue on Sunday, November 14, and on Sunday Condon had not started to look that far ahead yet.

“It will be another very difficult game. I can guarantee you that there are no easy games at this stage, it’s a Munster semi-final”, he added.