O’Grady not using past heartache to fuel Kildysart challenge

Kildysart manager Noel O’Grady insists his side will not be using past final heartbreak as added motivation ahead of his side’s showdown with Corofin
Despite this being his side’s fourth final in six year at the intermediate grade, O’Grady believes his charges must look forward and not back as they prepare for a final, which many predicted would come to fruition before the competition started.
“We are just focused on this year. The lads have to work hard and do their jobs on the pitch.
“We have a new management team this year so we have just been focusing on the task at hand The past defeats haven’t been mentioned by us. They (the players) may be thinking of it themselves but we’ve not mentioned it.”
O’Grady knows his side cannot afford the slow start that ultimately cost them in their semi final defeat to Corofin last year as they fell nine points behind in the opening quarter.
“There is no hiding from it. Corofin blitzed us in the first quarter and we don’t want that happening again. We can’t afford to be playing catch up.
“We are targeting a good start against them and we can go from there.”
The Kildysart manager believes his side are currently facing a stern challenge as they come up against a Corofin side who have racked up 6-30 in their past two games combined.
“No doubt they are the form team, their results show that. You can see the scores they have been racking up. They have serious firepower in their team. We hope our backs perform because they need to be on form. We hope the boys turn up and perform because if they do we have a great chance but if not then it won’t be enough to get over the line.”

by Ivan Smyth