Cleary sees first goal as the key moment
REACTION
Daire Walsh
FOLLOWING his side’s record-equalling third consecutive All-Ireland Minor ‘A’ Championship win at Tullamore, Cork manager John Cleary identified a 14th-minute goal from Sadhbh O’Leary as a key turning point.
The Leesiders and their opponents were deadlocked at two points each prior to the Kinsale corner-forward’s opening three-pointer, but once they found themselves in the driving seat, Cleary was delighted to see Cork taking the game by the scruff of the neck.
“It was a huge score actually. It settled us completely, and after I think we settled down. I think we were very nervous, and there was balls falling out of our hands and everything. But once we settled then, we played the type of football which I knew we could play,” Cleary remarked.
O’Leary and attacking partner Saoirse Noonan finished with a combined haul of 5-7, and their displays will have caught the eye of Cork senior boss Ephie Fitzgerald, who guided his charges to narrow triumph over Monaghan in the curtain-raiser at O’Connor Park.
While Cleary believes it may take a year or two for the dynamic duo to make the step up to the senior ranks, he nevertheless sees a big future in store for both players.
“It’s a hugely different ball game. The first game there [Cork v Monaghan], we’d Eimear Scally from a couple of years ago, but it has taken maybe a couple of years for her to come really to her best. It takes a bit of time definitely, but I see a big future for both of them.”
Considering how close the meetings between the two sides have been in recent years, it was somewhat surprising that Cork claimed victory with all of 19 points to spare, and Cleary admitted the game was easier than he had expected.
“We saw Galway in the semi-final, and definitely it was easier than expected. We were expecting a battle here today, and I think the couple of goals we got against the wind knocked the stuffing out of them. They went into defensive mode then, and it made it a bit easier for us,” Cleary added.