‘The more St Mary's are playing, the sweeter their game,’ gushes Maurice Fitzgerald

Maurice Fitzgerald isn’t convinced by talk of burnout.

For seven of his St Mary’s team, Saturday’s Munster final win brought the curtain down on 10 consecutive weekends of championship football, between club and South Kerry duties.

Their performance against Carrigaline wasn’t suggestive of a group that has been on the go, non-stop, since late September, and neither were their jubilant, post-match celebrations. “These lads are on the run for a good number of weeks now. They have put in a good shift. A lot of people are saying they are tired, but the more ball they are playing, the sweeter their game is,” said Fitzgerald.

“It has been very, very demanding for the players. If you look over my shoulder there, though, they are not complaining. I know a lot of the lads from watching them come up through the ranks and I have played with a few of the older lads. These are the days you dream of with your club. There were lean years. We are reaching for the stars, now, and this is a big step. Today was all about winning and being Munster champions. We are thrilled to be where we are.”

Fitzgerald pointed to his team’s first-half performance as critical in delivering provincial glory. Despite playing into the teeth of a near-gale, the Cahersiveen side returned to the dressing-room at half-time two in front. “The first-half gave us a platform. You could know, by standing here, that there was a very strong wind and we felt, at half-time, that the type of game Carrigaline were playing probably suited more against the wind, because they carry the ball from their half-back line forward. They were very forceful and very strong.

“The platform was laid by Denis Daly, around the middle of the field. I thought he was outstanding. His goal was worth the admittance fee alone.”

Carrigaline manager, Michael Meaney, said his team faced an uphill struggle at the change of ends, having failed to capitalise on the elements in the opening period. “At times, you can get caught up with the wind, kicking long ball in. We are inclined to work the ball in and we always play reasonably well against the wind.

“The thing is that we needed a lot more scores [in the first-half]. We needed a cushion going in at half-time and it didn’t happen. It was just small mistakes that cost us, and they were cuter on the ball. You could see the difference, in that a lot of their lads play senior. “We put in a good shift for the first 10, 15 minutes of the second-half. They saved our goal chance and went straight down the field and got a point. That would drive on any team. We kept on going to the end.”