Brady says “It’s only the start of the journey” for Louth champions St Kevins

St Kevins camogie manager Brian Brady was disappointed as his young side came up short against a powerful Éire Óg Carrickmore outfit in the All-Ireland Junior B camogie final at Abbotstown on Saturday.

The Louth champions lost 1-5 to 2-7, but Brady’s post-match reflections spoke as much about what lies ahead as what had just slipped away.

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When speaking at full time, he said: “It was probably our worst nightmare, the physicality that they brought. As we said, Division 1 in the Armagh league and all the tough battles they would have had there.

“We probably came through the soft route and the step up in the first half when we were 0-9 nil down at the start, probably it was a bad toss to lose in the first place.

“Because we had intended to win the toss and play with the win, but the physicality they brought, and the turn was over maybe 15 times in the first half.

“So it was very hard to get out, and in fairness to our girls, when they did get up to the speed of the game, they fought back and brought it back to five points before halftime, six at halftime.

“It was still our game in the second half; we just couldn't seem to get the breaks in around the goals we needed to get in the second half.

“The journey was a great journey to the All-Ireland final, but I said to the girls, I will say to them, it's only the start of the journey.

“They're all so young, as I said, eight or nine of them going to school on Monday morning, it's the start, not the finish of a journey, it's the start of a journey for the club.”

That fightback, sparked by Amy Murray’s goal after Kevins had fallen nine points behind, briefly shifted the momentum and underlined the resilience within the group.

Brady pointed to the calibre of opposition individuals and the tactical compromises his side were forced into as the game unfolded.

“Their No. 8 and No. 12, we knew Sorcha (Gormley) and the (Aoibhinn) Daly girl, two special players, Tyrone seniors.

“Obviously, Sorcha is the intermediate footballer of the year as well with Tyrone, so we knew they were great athletes, and it took us a while to get back to them.

“We had to drop Katie Mathews back to mark her, which left us a bit short in the full forward line, but listen, the girls, they had a great year.

“They're going to have a great weekend this weekend as well, there's no point in crying over spilt milk, we were here to win it, but it just didn't happen for us on the day.”

Kevins found scores hard-earned as Carrickmore’s defence stood tall and squeezed space.

“That's the challenge of social media, Lucy (Sheridan) was really bottled up, she was double marked from the start.

“Katie (Mathews) was well marked as well; they had their homework done through, especially all our games were online this year, the last three games, so I'm sure they had their homework done as their captain said after the game.”

Despite trailing by six points at the break, the Louth side remained within touching distance, particularly with the benefit of the second-half wind advantage to come.

“Well, we said beforehand that the win from right to left was worth probably a six-point breeze, so we're going in basically a draw at halftime.

“But as I said, we didn't just get the breaks in around the goals that we needed. Gemma (Murray) picked up an injury; she had to go into the square, brought Lucy (Sheridan) out, our scoring main track was probably gone then.”

Brady is already looking forward, both personally and collectively, setting out ambitions for the future.

“Well, unless I'm getting a P45 tonight (ha-ha), there is a special year for these girls, maybe it'll be next year.

“Push on, try to win another Louth championship and then the Leinster Junior Championship, and that'll be the goal for next year, all going well.

“The football and camogie in the club are both very strong, the footballers missed out by small margins in the group with the Fechins, who went on to win a Leinster.

“I think there was only one point in the group, so it's hard to get the two combined and going well together. It'd be great if maybe the two of them come out and win two Loud championships next year, it'd be brilliant.”

The boss also acknowledged that finals are unforgiving and that the lessons learned on Saturday will shape this group.

“The rucks in the first half, I think we lost them 7-1, and the stats don't lie. The physicality as you move into trying to win the All-Ireland.

“The physicality is upped, upped, upped. If you lose the game, don't lose the lesson, that's what I'd be telling the girls.”

Brady believes the run to an All-Ireland final has a bigger impact for the county as it offers a blueprint that Louth camogie can continue to rise.

“It'd be great if the three, especially the three senior clubs, and then there's four or five intermediate clubs and junior clubs coming through.

“There are loads of young players, I hope to get behind Padraig Murphy, the new manager, and get a good panel of 30-35 girls there and see where this journey could take the Louth camogie team.

“It's not that long, we were involved with teams way back that beat Offaly, and Offaly are now in senior, so I mean, things can happen if the work's put in behind the scenes, and there's loads of young players coming through.”