Flanagan urges Caulry to build on win over Moate
Caulry manager Pat Flanagan has warned his players that last weekend's sensational win over Moate All Whites will count for little if they don't perform in their Westmeath SFC quarter-final against Coralstown/Kinnegad tomorrow (Sunday).
Speaking after the eight-point win over Moate - see report here - Flanagan was keen to focus on the challenge that lies ahead against Coralstown/Kinnegad (managed by former Westmeath boss Jack Cooney) at TEG Cusack Park, throw-in 4.15pm.
"I'm after saying to the boys that I don't see a Flanagan Cup in there, you know. It's great be clapping each other on the back after winning the game here, but it absolutely means nothing if we don't perform next week,” he said.
"We have the capacity to kind of do that - to perform one week and not perform the next. So, it's up to myself and the boys in the backroom team and all involved in that room to get ourselves to a state that we can actually perform next weekend.”
Reflecting on the match against Moate which saw Caulry take command in the second half after the sides were level at half-time, Flanagan said: "You're talking about a local derby here, it was much more than a football match obviously. These guys know each other from a very, very young age.
"We obviously didn't know what was going on in the Killucan match (versus St Malachy's), but our first thought was to try and win the match and to try to be the best we could.
"It's the first time since I came to Caulry that I had a full pick of a panel and it kind of showed out there," continued Flanagan, pointing to the importance of having the Baker brothers (Senan and Tadhg) and Conor McCormack available.
"You saw the impact of those three players, especially the two forwards. You can't buy forwards; you know, forwards that are natural. What they've produced today showed the quality that this team has if we can keep people on the pitch.
"I said at half-time that we gave them (Moate) a four-point lead, we stood back looking at them. After about 15 minutes, we started to get stuck in and get a bit physical and started to play a bit of football."
Flanagan also hailed the display of midfielder Stephen Connolly, saying he was “absolutely superb, especially in the second half”. "He's a master, he probably doesn't always play to his potential. I mean, he should be with the Westmeath inter-county team as far as I'm concerned, but he showed today what sort of talent he has."
Flanagan knew his charges faced a major challenge as they not only had to beat Moate but to win by at least five points to ensure qualification for the knockout stages.
"It was a massive tall order especially if you look at the way Moate have been coming; they have been building and building. We had a really tough battle against Garrycastle two weeks ago where, in my opinion, the scoreline probably didn't match the actual game itself. We had no Tadhg (Baker) and no Conor (McCormack) and a half-fit Senan. We had no Colin Murphy who came on today in the second half and made a massive difference,”
Highlighting the absence of players for various championship games, Flanagan said: “It's just been relentless trying to get the best team on the field. I'm not trying to be disrespectful to the other players, but when you've got your best pick, they play well because they know there are fellas on the sideline to come on if they don't play well. That puts extra pressure on to do well and they produced today."
The two Caulry goals – with Sean Murphy and Senan Baker the scorers in either half – were obviously key to the way the game panned out. "I thought there was more there for us. I think we had other opportunities as well, but if you take a look at scoreline, when you score 2-18, you expect to win matches, it's as simple as that," said Flanagan.
Coralstown/Kinnegad have been a genuine bogey team for Caulry in recent years, coming out in top in a series of senior games, and also winning the 2022 U19 final between the clubs.
"Coralstown/Kinnegad put us out last year but there was a crazy amount of frees, I think there were 26 frees given against us and only eight frees for us. We had only one free in the scoring zone. I just felt last year some of the decisions were very tough, but you just have to put up with that. When you're the likes of Caulry trying to break through, you don't get the normal breaks some of the bigger teams get. That's just a fact, there's no point saying anything different," said Flanagan.
"But the bottom line is simply this – we have to try to be better than Kinnegad, to be the best we possibly can be and if we do that, we can give ourselves a good opportunity to win the game."
Asked about any possible injury worries ahead of the quarter-final, Flanagan quipped that the drama of last Sunday’s game might put him in danger of having a heart attack himself. “Apart from that, I think there are a few tweaks and niggles with the boys. We'll just have to assess things and, if we can get the same group of players available for the next game, I think we won't be too far away," the Clara man remarked.
Flanagan also expressed strong support for the rules introduced this season. "I think it's after putting it (Gaelic football) back in the spotlight. People want to watch it. People want to talk about it again. People want to go and play it again. The rules have made that happen and, hopefully, they can keep tweaking them,” added the former Westmeath and Offaly senior manager.