Dunne feels Fenagh St Caillins were nowhere near their best in Connacht Gold SFC Quarter Final victory
Connacht Gold Leitrim SFC Quarter Final reaction
Martin Dunne believes Fenagh St Caillins were nowhere near their best in last Saturday’s Connacht Gold Leitrim SFC Quarter Final victory over St Mary’s Kiltoghert, despite his delight at booking a place in the semi-finals.
Speaking to the Observer after the game, Martin said “I don't think we were anywhere near our best there to be honest with you this evening. But look, I'm just delighted to get the win. We knew we were going to get nothing against Mary's coming down here this evening. They were in the league final, they were after beating Leitrim Gaels last week. Mary's are superbly well organised, any team that comes up against them gets it hard to break it down so we knew what we were challenging here this evening.
“So it was just about being patient when we were in possession to get our right lads on the ball and try and attack them where we felt that we could get joy. Lucky enough we got the scores towards the end of the game. We knew the task that was in hand and just delighted to get out of here and be into the semi-final.”
The Fenagh manager agreed that captain Ryan O’Rourke set the tone for the contest - “That's why Ryan's captain of the team and he's captain of Leitrim. When the game was in the melting pot there, I really felt he stood up and he took hold of that game with the scruff of the neck. We challenge Ryan every week, he sets the bar for us so I expect it from him to be honest with you.”
Martin agreed that his troops probably found it hard to recover after the exertions of the final round group game against Ballinamore: “We felt that we were fresh coming in but obviously a big game last week and a massive effort put in to get across the line in that game probably took its toll a wee bit there. I wouldn't say we were at our absolute best. Delighted to get the two-week break now and get bodies on the table and get them recovered to whoever we face in two weeks' time.
Looking back over the campaign, Martin feels that Fenagh have performed well, even when results didn’t go their way: “We felt that we performed well in those games and we felt a wee bit unlucky. We didn't hit any panic buttons and when we looked at the stats from the games and when we dissected it, yes, there were mistakes made but we felt overall that we were in a good place.
“We felt we were due a bit of luck and that it was going to swing so, hopefully it's swinging now at the right time. We're just delighted to be in the hat. It doesn't make a difference who we get, we'll go in as underdogs. I think it'll suit us to go in as the underdog but the semi-final is there to be won and it's all in the day.”
And Martin feels that Fenagh has a point to prove: “I've heard a lot of things about Fenagh; that they hadn't got a bit of bite or they didn't have any bottle. From what I've seen, I wouldn't be listening to any one. We'll come up with a plan and we'll be ready in two weeks' time.”