Never a breeze, says Fitzgerald, as Nemo forced to dig deep

EPHIE FITZGERALD wasn’t surprised by the strength of Ballinacourty’s challenge at Fitzgerald Stadium.

“We play a lot of games against Waterford clubs so we knew we were in for a tough one. And obviously the wind played a big part, though to be fair the pitch was fantastic,” said the Nemo manager.

“Nine points might have looked a huge lead at half-time, but we knew if they came into it, if they got a few scores, that it would become a battle. As it happened they got what I thought was a dubious goal — I’d have to see it again on television – and then they added a point at a time when I thought we were coasting but our lads showed their character, they got a few scores to finish it off.”

Fitzgerald acknowledged that playing with the breeze in the first half had been a significant help. “The wind was unbelievable, though you never know how these things are going to work out – sometimes it’s fine, sometimes it isn’t. I didn’t think we were particularly good in the first half, they won a lot of breaks around the middle of the field, and though we got the tonic of an early goal, we were generally disappointed with the way we played. You need a bit of luck at that level – the last time we lost to St Gall’s by a point, and then they lost the All-Ireland Club final by a point, so there’s nothing in it. It’ll be nip and tuck from now on but we’ll take the rest we deserve now and then prepare for Ballina Stephenites, I’ve no doubt they’ll be another big, strong team.”

Fitzgerald was happy with the depth of talent shown by Nemo.

“We won today without David Niblock and Sean O’Brien, while Ciaran O’Shea is still injured and Paul Brophy is just back. If we get our full panel back we should be very strong.”

Asked to make comparisons between this Nemo outfit and some of their celebrated predecessors, the manager pointed to the silverware the current team have won.

“I played on Nemo teams who never won three titles in-a-row. A lot of these guys have six county medals and a lot of them have All-Ireland club medals as well. They’re a credit to the club, a pleasure to work with and I couldn’t ask for any more from them. If we win the All-Ireland we’ll be delighted, and if not we’ll just prepare for next year.”