Mayo's Kilmeena keen to continue winning ways against Sligo champions
Fresh from their great win over Galway champions Caltra in Tuam Stadium last Sunday, Kilmeena have a very quick turnaround in the AIB Connacht GAA Intermediate Football Championship, writes Aiden Henry.
There's little time for rest and recovery as they play the provincial semi-final on Saturday (November 15) against the Sligo champions, Coolaney/Mullinabreena, in Hastings Insurance McHale Park, Castlebar, with a 1.30 p.m. throw-in time.
While the six-day turnaround is less than ideal preparation, especially after their quarterfinal clash with Caltra went to extra time, the Mayo champs will be ready for this encounter, and will be giving their Sligo opponents the utmost respect.
Indeed, speaking after beating Caltra, Kilmeena manager Damien Egan said they would be facing another big challenge next Saturday against Coolaney/Mullinabreena.
“It is great to come up here to Tuam and get a win,” he said. “It is a venue that has never been easy for Mayo teams. While we are delighted to have beaten Caltra, we know we have plenty of improvement to do in the semi-final.
“This Sligo team will be no pushover and we will have to make better use of our scoring chances than we did today. There was a lot of chances missed out there, which made it that much tougher for us in that we had to play extra time. With the six-day turnaround to the semi-final, it not going to be very easy.”
Egan added: “Hopefully the lads will be ready to go again. But having said that, it is very important that we have a good bench. As you saw today, the bench played a big part in our victory, with the likes of Cormac (O’Malley) coming in and getting two mighty two-pointers, (and) Luke Durkan and Daniel Kelly to the fore.
“You need a good bench, and we have one. Another player, Caolach Halligan, picked up a slight knock last week and we decided not to use him as he could have done more damage. He should be ready to go on Saturday, which is another plus.
“Again, we will be taking nothing for granted next Saturday despite the fact we will have home advantage. This Sligo side will really put it up to us.”
Last Sunday, as expected, Kilmeena were asked serious question by Caltra and in the end came up with all the right answers.
As the manager said, beating a Galway team in Tuam takes a lot of doing and now that they have cleared this huge hurdle, they should have too much in the tank for Coolaney/Mullinabreena, especially in MacHale Park.