Ken Dunne thrilled with Monaleen recovery after 'terrible' first half

FOR Monaleen manager Ken Dunne, there was no need for dramatic changes when things were going wrong.

Killian Begley’s 19th-minute goal put Mungret St Paul’s 10 points up and in complete control of this Whitebox Senior Hurling Championship quarter-final at the TUS Gaelic Grounds.

The Castletroy side were able to settle things down and three points before the interval from Shane Hassett gave them some momentum before Dunne got the chance to speak with the players at the half time break.

“It was a really easy fix,” said former Tipperary star Dunne after the one-point win.

“It wasn't anything tactical or anything at all. We were just a little bit jittery. I think we were overplaying the ball a little bit.

“We weren't working hard enough. Mungret dominated the breaks, dominated the exchanges really. They won the primary ball and the breaks.

“That's what had us on the back foot from the word go. At half time, we said we'd just go at it. We stepped up on our men, we had to win the dirty ball. We had to win the breaks. That's what we started doing early in the second half.

“Bit by bit, we just clawed it back,” he added.

While delighted with the second half effort, the Toomevara man was blunt in his assessment of the opening 30 minutes.

“We were terrible in the first half, Mungret ran rings around us,” he said.

“We said at half time, we came out and said we had nothing to lose, so we said we'd go at it.

“It made for a great second half and a great finish by two young, youthful teams. Fair play to Mungret, fair play to Monaleen. Two great teams.

“Two teams that are teams of the future really.”

While the two city clubs certainly have bright futures, the present is looking pretty good for Dunne’s side. This win, secured by Lorcan Lyons’ last minute winner from well inside his own half, earned the Castletroy men a spot in the SHC semi-final for the first time in the club’s history.

“Huge for Monaleen,” said Dunne, “that's not down to me, that's down to the players.

“That's down to the hurling committee that are dealing with this team for years. That hurling committee does some work in the club for hurling and for this team.

“Me, I'm just there as a facilitator to pick the team and spread them out and make the changes. Huge history for Monaleen. Into the semi-final, last four in Limerick. It's huge.”

While they had a late winner on Sunday, a similarly late strike from Conor Hanley Clarke meant they lost by a point to Kilmallock in their final group game. The pair meet again in the semi-final on October 11.

“I suppose Kilmallock had nothing to play for that night. It'll be a different story the next day,” outlined Dunne.

“It'll be an extremely tough game for us. We're there now and we'll go with confidence.

“We have nothing to lose going into the semi-final.

“I'm really looking forward to two weeks now.”