London Calling for Slaughtneil's next 'clash'
"London calling to the faraway towns... Now war is declared and battle come down." - The Clash
By Brendan McTaggart
THERE'S no rest for the Slaughtneil juggernaut. ‘London’s Calling’ for the Robert Emmets and a ‘Clash’ with the Exiles of St Kiernan’s for a place in the All-Ireland Football Championship Semi-Final. Slaughtneil will go into the game as favourites to progress but they will have their hands full with a St Kiernan side who did a ‘clean sweep’ of all before them in 2016 and defeated Tir Chonaill Gaels in the London decider, the winner of the previous two London Championships.
Slaughtneil’s assistant manager John Joe Kearney, spoke to the County Derry Post about the expectation surrounding the treble. It didn't affect the Derry champions.
Kearney felt Kilcoo were the side who were under pressure: “It was never spoken about in the run up to the Ulster Final among the squad and we didn’t want to be making a big deal about it to be honest. We knew what we had to do coming into the game and now that it’s done, it’s a monumental achievement for the club. On the day we didn’t feel under any extra pressure, if anything we felt that all the pressure was on Kilcoo. They had won five Down titles on the trot and lost in one Ulster Final. They have been knocking on the door for a while and there was a certain amount of expectation laying with them.”
Kearney added: “We haven’t yet looked back on the game collectively as yet. I looked back on it myself and you have to give Kilcoo credit. They never lay down at any stage and kept coming at us. There was a 15 or 20 minute period during the second half where they were relentless and put us under serious pressure.
“The lads showed plenty of character and inner belief to turn that around. We controlled the last ten minutes and that come from them. Me or Mickey didn’t have to do too much from the side lines. These boys know how to get over the line and that comes from the experience of playing in these big matches. They have developed a coolness under pressure and they trust each other 100% in these situations and an in-game awareness. It’s something that we have seen them develop over the last couple or three years.”
Seven Championship matches and seven clean sheets thus far for Slaughtneil and were it not for the brilliance of ‘keeper Antóin McMullan in the Provincial decider it could have been a very different ending for the Emmets. Kearney acknowledged the importance of McMullan’s save when he continued: “Antóin’s save was crucial, as was the save against Derrygonnelly in the first round of the Ulster Championship. It helps the defence when they know that they have a ‘keeper behind them capable of stepping up when required but the defence as a whole have been very good during this year’s Championship. To have yet to concede a goal during this Championship isn’t down to just Antóin but the six defenders and the team as a whole.”
Kearney did admit though that they are stepping into the unknown on Sunday against St Kiernan’s but the London Champions have their upmost respect as they prepare for their Quarter-Final: “To be honest, I know nothing about St Kiernan’s and what dangers they pose. I know that they are a group of exiles and they beat Tir Chonail Gaels in the London Final but that’s as far as my knowledge goes.
“We are under no illusions with this match. In recent times, you just have to look at when Crossmaglen had to travel. They certainly didn’t have things all their own way and either did Lavey or Ballinderry when they had to travel. Having spoken with some of the men that were involved with the teams from the County that have travelled, they have all said the same thing – it won’t be a pushover. This is a potential banana skin and by no means a ‘gimme’. We will have to be at our best and focussed 100% on what lays ahead.”
With plenty of media attention turning towards the Quarter-Final, it has yet again highlighted the exclusion of the Leinster Champions when it comes to travelling to the English capital. “I think the official reason for their exclusion is the number of games that they have to play in the Leinster Championship," stated Kearney.
"To me, that doesn’t matter. The rest of the provinces have to get their houses in order, Leinster should be no different. It’s unfair on the clubs that have to travel for the extra expenditure that they have when preparing for the travelling and what have you.
- Next week's County Derry Post will have all the photos, action, reaction and analysis from Slaughtneil's game in Greenford.