Lennon and Clann put ‘tough week’ behind them

The ripple of applause that went around the stand in Ballyforan when Liam Naughten — nephew of the recently deceased Councillor John Naughten — pointed a free that he himself had earned, proved that the tragic reason why the Junior A football semi-final between Clann na nGael and Roscommon Gaels had been postponed by a week was still very much to the forefront of the thoughts of the people in attendance on Saturday evening.

Life and death is what it is, and so is football. But with no control over the former, Clann na nGael manager Niall Lennon was delighted to see his team produce a solid hour of football, securing their return to a county final in the process.

“It was a tough week for both clubs. There are boys involved in both camps —Liam Óg’s involved with us as a selector and then you’ve Denis’ young lad on the other side, so it’s been difficult for a lot of people, and, of course, we’re thinking of all of John’s family at this time,” Lennon told the Roscommon Herald in the aftermath of his side’s three-point victory.

“It was a dogged fight between two committed teams. It wasn’t pretty at times. It was a 50/50 battle. By the end, they will have felt they could have won it, but we’d be kicking ourselves if we lost it. To get the last couple of scores meant a lot to us.

“We’ll be looking back on it throughout the week and no doubt we kicked a bit away. We had the wrong shot selection at times but it’s something to work on for the week and it’s great to have a few negatives and a few positives to work off and still to be preparing for a county final,” assessed Lennon.

How much preparation that Clann will be able to manage, with just seven days between this game and their championship decider against St. Barry’s, is up for debate. Lennon is happy to embrace the quick transition, however, hoping that between up and coming youngsters and experienced veterans, his players will be able to handle things.

“It’s good and bad. Sometimes you could have a three-week build-up and it feels too long. This time, the final is coming upon us without even thinking. We’ll recover, we’ll do a light session during the week and, hopefully, the lead-in will go well for us.

“There’s a few new faces in the panel this year, and lads that have committed a bit more to us this season That could be seniors from last year or a few young lads, so there’s a good mix of experience and youth. It’s just gelling that bit better for us this year, and, hopefully, it’ll be the same the next day” he added.