CONLEITH Gilligan’s first championship match as Kilcoo joint-manager turned out to be an emphatic announcement that the Magpies intend to hold on to the three trophies – Down, Ulster and All-Ireland – they won last season.
Gilligan and Richie Thornton took over from Mickey Moran at the end of an historic campaign and there was no evidence to suggest that Kilcoo have lost any of their hunger in the way they dismantled Clonduff at Pairc Esler.
Ciaran McBride’s side were expected to challenge the Magpies but they never looked like recovering after Eugene Branagan’s first half goal left clear daylight between the sides.
Moran’s shoes are big ones to fill but Gilligan’s side took their first championship step with confidence.
“I suppose me and Richie were there last year and I suppose I was there a couple of years earlier,” said Ballinderry native Gilligan.
“In some ways my role hasn’t change at all and in other ways coming up to game-day it is 100 miles away - everything is different. You come from coaching to trying to manage and it is a hard transition, it is not an easy job and you are trying to do it best you can.
“Obviously, the buck has to stop somewhere and if it goes well, you get a pat in the back. If it doesn’t go well, you get a kick in the arse and there is a very small gap between the two.”
They gave youngsters Jason Morgan, Callum Rogers and McDarragh Hynes their championship debuts on Friday night and all three settled seamlessly into a team of All-Ireland winners headlined by the Down manager himself, Conor Laverty.
“They are pushing really hard,” said Gilligan.
“They played through the league and they are great lads and they put their hand up and I suppose when it comes to the bit some boys get injured, some boys were away and they have got their chance and it is up to them to fight for that, because there will be boys kicking at their heels to get back in again.”
“We have a number of boys (including Ryan and Shealan Johnston) coming back from serious-enough injuries who haven’t had a lot of game-time and they all came off the bench tonight and they all added serious value when they came on.”
Gilligan described Friday night’s 2-12 to 0-4 defeat as “a freak result”. Clonduff opened the scoring but Kilcoo, superior all over the field, were out of sight by half-time and ‘the Yellas’ managed just one point (a free) in the second half.
“I suppose first rounds are always difficult especially when you come up against your neighbours and a team as good as Clonduff, so just getting out of here alive was the goal,” said Gilligan.
“Over the last three years there has been one, two and three points in the games and this year they beat us and we beat them and we drew one.
“Tonight was just a freak result, they didn’t get up to the pitch of it and we got a really good start. “When they came out, we sort of published them on the break. If it was a knockout championship, I suppose we would be more excited but you know that Clonduff is going to be there at the quarter-final stages maybe waiting on you again and that is the challenge.
“It is good to get over the line and it gives us two weeks to prepare but Clonduff will be back to have a say because they have too much talent not to have.”
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EVERGREEN Conor Laverty maintained his superb form with two points for Kilcoo in his club’s Down senior championship opener against Clonduff.
That a veteran like him can still lead defenders a merry dance in a senior championship match does suggest something about the talent in Down football at present and, as county manager, Laverty will have to deal with that soon enough.
But for now his focus is on his club and he remains one of the best forwards in the club game, says joint-Kilcoo manager Conleith Gilligan.
“That (Laverty being appointed Down manager) has sort of gone under the radar for us but it is great for him and great boost for Down,” he said.
“He is still on top of his game and any player that looks at him at his age to see what he is able to do… They couldn’t help but be impressed by what he brings to the table.
“He obviously is very focussed on Kilcoo and there is nothing that will take away from that but I am delighted for him, it (managing Down) is something he wanted to do.
“He is very passionate about Down and he has given well over decade to Down in different things, he has taken the U20s and he has gone about it the hard way, he has gone from the grassroots up and a lot of players he will meet will be players he has managed for a couple of years.
“I think Down are going to find themselves in a very good place with him.”
After a 14-point win in their championship first round game, it seems that Burren are the only team capable of challenging Down, Ulster and All-Ireland champions Kilcoo this season. Burren won the league final meeting of the sides but, as Gilligan says: “League is league and the championship is championship”.
“You never want to lose a match but you have to very quickly dust yourself down because we you had 10 days between things and that is one chapter closed and another one opened,” he said.
“You have to try to be the best you can be for the next game and only the next game because anything further down the line would just derail you.”
