Teamwork and leadership got St Clare's CS across the line says Shane Ward

The nerves were jangling at the end of normal time as Ennistymon CBS lined up a potential match winning free in St Jarlath’s Stadium, Tuam but Shane Ward always felt that if his St Clare’s CS Manorhamilton were given a chance, they would go on to win last Saturday’s Masita All-Ireland PPS Senior C Final.

The St Clare’s manager felt his team were the better team on the day and highlighted the teamwork and leadership that eventually got his team across the line on a 1-17 to 1-13 scoreline after extra-time: “When Jack went down with the cramp, the leadership, some of the boys around him showed. Ronan Fox kicked a massive free and Jack Attard kicked a quality strike.

“That's all you want in kids is to step up and just be leaders at the right time. It takes a lot, it takes a lot of courage, and it takes a lot of support, but they did it at the right time. We always thought if we didn't concede goals in the run to a championship, we'd be there at our abouts, because we have such a good forward unit. 

“Our sole focus was let's not concede a silly goal. That was always our mentality and that's what they did. In fairness, they worked really hard in training, and really, really did work hard, working together as a unit rather than three or four men defending, so they really held their nerve today. 

“Sometimes it was hard, hard to sit in there and focus, because they had the ball for two minutes there in the last few minutes, but they stayed on task, which is brilliant.”

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It looked as if the Manorhamilton school would suffer cruel heartbreak as Ennistymon lined up a potential match winning free well after added time had elapsed at the end of the 60 minutes. So how did Shane keep his composure and keep his team on track before the free was taken?

“My initial thoughts were, I suppose, you draw on all your experience,” said Shane who admitted that he feared the worst but hoped for the best, “Because you've been there before and maybe you don't always come out of these things well, but I just had full faith. I just thought if one thing went our way, and we needed that, that when we got that, we would push on.

“I thought the boys probably deserved to win it in real time. They had such faith and belief in what they were going to do, so I  thought, if just one thing were to go our way, we'd see it out and that free just happened to go wide. It was tough on Ennistymon, scoring into that goal with the breeze coming across the field.”

One master switch Shane pulled off was throwing Zach Gethins  back on during extra-time, the St Patrick’s Dromahair clubman telling his manager before extra-time that he would get a goal: “He said I have to get a goal before I leave school and I said well now would be a good time to do it!

“Zach has that in his locker - sometimes you just need to remove a player to just take a breather, and then maybe pop them back in, and that was my thinking. Sometimes you're in a game and it is passing you by, very hard to get traction.

“I knew if I said to him, go in after full-time, just get ready to go back in, and we just picked the right time, and he would always be there, thereabouts.”

What it means for St Clare’s CS as a school and their community is huge according to Shane: “It's absolutely massive. It's monumental. It's unseen times and just a credit to the people in the school who are putting energy around these students. It's a credit to the students themselves, who are so resilient, and want to win so badly. They're an absolute pleasure to work with, and they just know when the thing comes together right, they just know there's a chance, and they go after it.”

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For a man who tasted club glory with Glencar Manorhamilton and Derrygonnelly and managed the Leitrim Senior & U21 teams, Shane gave the sort of answer you’d expect of the man when asked how does last Saturday rank in his coaching career: “It's one of the best feelings I've felt on a sideline in a long time, but I don't think of management or coaching as a career. 

“I think of it as giving people opportunities that I got when I was in their boots. Many, many good people were very good to me over the years and gave me opportunities to win big games, opportunities to come from a great club in Ballyshannon and with loads of people who work so well. I just thought, you know what, if I get to be a teacher, I'll just pay that forward.”