Maye’s delight to see Nathy’s fulfilling potential

For St Nathy’s College joint manager Colm Maye, last Friday night was sweet because the Charlestown Sarsfields clubman knew he had a special bunch to work with before the start of this season’s Connacht Post Primary senior ‘B’ football championship.

When St Nathy’s won the Connacht juvenile ‘B’ crown in 2022, backboned by many of this current team, there was strong hope that group could progress and win at senior level. But nothing is guaranteed in sport. That was why Maye was delighted to see this crop come through and fulfil their potential in the final against St Joseph’s of Galway (see page 7).

“It is huge. We are delighted to get over the line. The performance in the second-half was excellent. We got the nerves out of the way in the first-half. It is huge to this group of players. It is massive because they were kind of earmarked from juvenile all the way up and they have got their reward for all their hard work. I am delighted for them.” 

Despite leading 1-4 to 0-4 at half-time, St Nathy’s were forced to survive on their wits at times. However, their third quarter display was far improved, outscoring their foes 1-4 to 1-0, which proved the bedrock upon which this win was built off.

“We weren’t happy coming in at half-time to be honest. We were happy with the scoreline, but we weren’t happy with the performance. We just sat them down at half-time and said there was a huge quarter coming up.

“We had to come out and go fast because we had seen what they done to Ballyhaunis (Community School) in the third quarter. We said if that happens in the final it is going to get away from us but thankfully our lads stood up when it was counted in the third quarter so that was great.” 

The St Nathy’s College joint manager credited midfielders Oran Frain (Kilmovee Shamrocks) and Sean Buckley (Ballaghaderreen) for providing the impetus for the winners’ challenge.

“When there are a couple of fellas bigger than me it helps a lot. Sean and Oran were immense. With Oran it was touch and go whether he would be able to play. The poor lad was in the sick bed until two o’clock yesterday (Thursday) but he managed to pull himself up and put in a huge shift. When he stuck that goal, I was delighted for him.

“Sean is just a powerhouse in the middle of the pitch. The first day out against the Bish we took him off. It just didn’t happen for him, but he has come back and he has turned into a fabulous footballer. We are lucky to have Oran and Sean in the middle of the pitch.” 

Maye was keen to see his side build on this Connacht final triumph as they prepare for an All-Ireland semi-final showdown with Cork’s Mount Saint Michael Rosscarbery.

“It is amazing how quick these games come, and you just start progressing. We will regroup.

“We have a good team here. There are areas we can improve but there are always difficult days to get your best performance. The win is what it is all about.”