Kilcoyne is in it to win it against neighbours Ballina

Knockmore joint-manager Aidan Kilcoyne has the feeling that Sunday’s county senior final against Ballina Stephenites could come down to a test of squad strength between the two North Mayo sides.

Kilcoyne, who manages the team alongside John Brogan, said the duo have more than a few selection headaches after the subs bench inspired them to victory against Breaffy but it is a good problem for them to have. Charlie Bourke and Billy Ruane both raised green flags to see Knockmore to victory in a tense semi-final affair.

“We’ve got a lot of big decisions to make but that’s the beauty of it. We relish being in that difficult situation where we have 24 or 25 guys chomping at the bit to get in.

“We felt we didn’t get that impact off the bench last year, it wasn’t lesser players coming in, we just weren’t going after it as much as we should have been but that has improved this year.

“For example, Peter Naughton came off the bench against Belmullet and whipped the ball over the bar a few seconds later and we also got great energy against Breaffy.

“I met Pat Corcoran at a club event recently, who would have been my manager that threw me in and gave me a chance when I was 16. It reminded me of us giving 17-year-old Billy Ruane that chance against Breaffy. “Of course, I didn’t do as well as Billy did! But we will need that great energy again from more than 15 players; we’ll need it from 20 or 21 players to get over the line against Ballina,” he said.

Kilcoyne added that there was great satisfaction from the manner of the win against Breaffy but they had to quickly settle themselves and get ready for the challenge that lies ahead.

“The immediate emotion was relief and pride in the way we stuck at the task. But immediately after that euphoria, you come back down to earth. Nothing is won yet. That was a huge moment for us but means nothing if we don’t get the job done,” said Aidan.

“This group has been successful before and at the start of the year, our objective was not to get to a county final, it was to win a county final. We have to prepare so well to accomplish that.”

He said his team did not get too bogged down by their first round defeat to Ballaghaderreen and instead focused on hitting the standards they set of themselves going forward from there.

“People didn’t realise how good Ballaghaderreen were at the time but they have some phenomenally good players and made it really difficult for us.

“We became a little bit scattered in the second-half and turned over the ball a little too often. As a team who prides ourselves on our skill execution and our decision making, that was the thing that disappointed us the most.

“Our motivation from there was that we needed to win to stay in the championship because we still had ambitions to go and win it and we needed to right the wrongs of that game. We’ve been quietly building our performance levels and we’ve improved at many facets with every game and that’s been really satisfying.” 

Aidan said he does not know what type of game to expect going into the county final with Ballina.

“We played them in the semi-final last year and it finished 10-7 and was a little bit cagey but neither team played a sweeper. Both teams went man for man, toe to toe and it was a probably a game where the management of two teams that knew each other really well got the matchups spot on.

“A lot of defensive players played really well and it was small margins. They turned over one of our kick-outs, got a score, got another quick one, then we lost our discipline, lose a hop ball and suddenly they have a third score and then you’re really chasing the game. It can be as simple as things like that.

“The final could take on a different life of its own. It’ll be two teams going hell for leather either way.”

Aidan said while it would be a little bit sweeter to beat their rivals in the county final, it is not playing much on his mind in the days leading into the game.

“We all know about the rivalry and what it means but when you get to a county final, it doesn’t matter. You should want to win it regardless.

“Will it make it more special if you win it? Yes. Will it be more depressing if we lose? Probably not, because we’ll have failed in our objective either way. It is a huge opportunity for us, we’ll go in as huge underdogs with nothing to lose,” he said.

He said that co-manager John Brogan and himself feel ‘blessed’ to work with this group of Knockmore players and while management doesn’t quite match the exhilaration of playing, it still has been a great journey.

“Management is the closest thing you can get to playing without matching playing, there’s nothing quite like playing. But you’re in the dressing-room, you get that buzz, that excitement that goes with it,” he said.

“There’s a lot of work that goes into it, there’s a huge responsibility but we’re blessed with the group we have. Nothing is too big, everything we ask for is no problem.

“We lost a couple of big players but the mentality is all about the next man up, who’s the next man up, who is the opportunity presenting itself to? When you get a group like that, you can’t help but enjoy it.”