Captain says Kilmurry got rub of the green

NEW Munster club football champions Kilmurry/Ibrickane enjoyed a share of luck through a lengthy campaign which saw them play their 11th game in Kilmallock on Sunday when they defeated Stradbally in a replay.

In doing what Clare sides in the past have found difficult - "crossing the thin line which divides so many teams" - team captain Odran O'Dwyer admitted that they had enjoyed the rub of the green.

In different circumstances, he felt that Eire Óg, Ennis - who they beat after two games in the Clare final - might well have been filling their shoes this week.

More pertinently, O'Dwyer maintained that they emerged successful at the weekend because they learned more from the drawn final in Thurles the previous Sunday - and planned their approach accordingly.

"People were saying that they missed two goals in the first half and could have got another ten points. After watching the video, realistically we felt they could have scored 1-4 or 1-5. The rest of the chances they missed were either too far out or kicking under pressure - kind of panic kicks. I suppose 1-4 would have won them the game, but we made some good chances as well.

"We felt that nearly all their scores, bar two, came from very poor mistakes on our part. So, we knew that if we cleaned up our act and tightened up at the back and midfield, we were going to dominate the game. Their big players had done well in the draw, whereas a good few of our players, myself included, hadn't played so well. If we could reduce their impact and improve, we were going to win it. We reduced the impact of their big players and played better ourselves.''

From the outset, O'Dwyer says that the players held a belief that they could be successful in Munster - as long as they applied themselves properly. "We knew especially after being so close to Nemo Rangers two years ago and watching what they achieved subsequently, that it was definitely within our grasp,'' he added. "It was just a matter of breaking the thin line that divides so many teams and unfortunately for Clare football, we always seem to be that small step behind. But, thankfully we broke that on Sunday.

"In Clare we came out of a handy group. The quarter-final with Cooraclare was the big game for us - the game which got us to where we are today. We ended up being four points behind at half-time and it could have been ten points down, but we battled back. We coasted through the semi-final and then we had two brilliant games with Eire Óg in the final. We were eight points down at one stage in the first game but came back to draw level. They should have nearly beaten us in the second game. It was almost like a replica of Sunday, the way they kicked some crazy wides. It could have been Eire Óg out there.''

Yesterday, O'Dwyer flew out for a short break in the sun, admitting to a 'surreal' feeling after the presentation of the trophy and waking up to realise that their dream had come through. Other than his knowledge of the big names in the Ballina line-up, and the fact that they have previously contested an All-Ireland final, he knows very little about the Mayo champions.

"We'll take a break until after Christmas. We'll sit down and watch a few videos. We'll take it from there.''