Peadar Healy hails ‘great character and fight’

Leaning against the wall underneath the main stand of the Carrigoon complex in Mallow, Peadar Healy wore the look of a relieved man.

His first competitive game as Cork manager ended with the narrowest of victories and to that regard, he had his players, Daniel Goulding in particular, to thank.

“At half-time I thought we were in a bit of trouble. We asked the players to work harder than they did in the first half and, to be honest, when Limerick went a point ahead with 10 minutes to go, you would have put your money on Limerick to win,” said the new Cork football boss.

“The boys showed great character, great fight and they worked it out. They wanted it more.

“Limerick, I felt in the first half, should have been ahead.

“They had 13 chances to our own nine.

“A lot of it came from their half-back line and I think we got that right in the second-half. That laid the foundations.”

With the team spending most of the winter in the gym, Healy wasn’t overly concerned by this error-ridden performance.

“The hand-passing and the kick-passing was very sloppy. But that will come, in time. It is early days yet.

“If you looked at today’s team, only two of them started against Kildare in the championship.

“We are going to give [the new players] their heads now and that is it.

“Hopefully they will perform and hopefully we will get a few players out of this for the league.

“I will be bringing in a few more young lads next week and then, as time goes on, reintroduce the older lads ahead of the National League.”

And a word too for the newest member of his backroom team; Eamonn Ryan.

“Eamonn is Eamonn. He is just fabulous with the players and how he deals with them. They have great respect for him.

“Myself and the other younger lads in management are mad for road.

“Eamonn is able to keep the reins on us which is great.”