Just good to get over the line - Kilcar’s Mark Sweeney
Kilcar had just two points to spare against neighbours Naomh Columba after a good second half battle in Towney, a result which earned them another tilt at county champions, Naomh Conaill in the senior championship quarter-final.
“It was a very, very tight game and exactly what we expected off Glen coming out here today
“It is just good to get over the line, that's what today was all about, getting into the draw for the quarter-final,” was how Kilcar manager, Mark Sweeney summed it up.
Kilcar played against the slight breeze in the opening half and dominated the half hour, leading 0-7 to 0-4 at the break.
“Yeah we were happy at half-time, three points up because it is difficult to shoot in that direction.
“So we were pleased with the first half and were probably the happier team at half-time.”
The second half was a different affair with Naomh Columba looking far more energised.
“We knew Glen were always going to come at us. That was a real, real battle. It was tit for tat for a lot of the half and I think both teams struggled to get scores at the end of moves.
“We were just lucky at the end and Ryan McHugh obviously stood up and got the scores that mattered.”
But while Ryan McHugh hit brilliant two pointers to push Kilcar four clear, Aaron Doherty responded with one of his own and the fat was in the fire in the final seconds.
“Yeah, we probably thought that was it when we went four up but Aaron Doherty pops up with a brilliant two pointer and then we conceded that free that could have levelled matters,” said Sweeney.
The draw after the game sees Kilcar pitted once more against Naomh Conaill, a team they met in the final round of group games in Towney, with the Naomh Conaill side pulling away in the final minutes to win by five.
“That’s the luck of the draw. Glenties are Glenties, they’re a top team and we’ve got to go again. We’ve got to dust ourselves down and get prepared. Last week was a really good battle with them and we were unfortunate not to come out on the right end of it. I thought we should have got something out of it. We were just a point down and we got possession from the kick-out after the goal but we didn’t capitalise on it and we ended up losing the game by five points.
“Next day out will be a different game so it’ll be just all hands on deck to prepare. We’ve gone four weeks on the trot there so it’s been pretty tough on the bodies.
“”We just need to get everybody freshened up and we’ve picked up no injuries today, so let’s get everybody back on the pitch now and go from there,” said Sweeney.