Darcy pleased by players desire in tough conditions

By Joe Scully

It was a case of job done for Tipperary under 23 manager Bryan Darcy after his sides hard earned draw away to Kilkenny on Friday night.

In a game played in miserable conditions, the Nenagh native was happy with how his side played and with the work-rate displayed throughout in the very difficult conditions.

“I was very impressed with the girls,” he began.

“It wasn’t easy for either side out there tonight in those conditions, and even though the ground was solid the ball was greasy.

“I’m pleased for the girls we got a draw late on, although we could have got a win out of it towards the end, but their attitude and their work-rate were top class, and I can’t fault them at all.

“It was a tough game no doubt, conditions were poor for camogie, but as I said they stayed going and never gave up and got a point out of a tough game against a good Kilkenny side.”

Darcy was also happy with how his side reacted to a poor start, which saw them concede a goal straight from the throw-in.

“It’s a thing we are working on and have been talking to the girls about getting into the game fast,” Darcy continued.

“They probably fell asleep for a minute or two at the start and Kilkenny capitalised on it, but after that we were fully focused and got ourselves back into the game and played very well I thought.”

The Tipp manager was also full of praise for Eire Og Annacarty/Donohill clubmates Eva O’Dwyer and Danielle Ryan who got crucial scores late on which earned a share of the spoils.

“Eva and Danielle battle over taking the frees for their club and they are two very good strikers of the ball,” Darcy continued.

“Eva scored a superb free from the sideline, and then Danielle hit the last free from a fair distance to earn us a draw. We’re delighted to have these girls in the team, and you need every one of them.”

It’s a case of contentment for the Tipp management team after their opening three games of the championship, but they know they still have work to do with both Galway and Cork yet to come in the race to finish in the top four.

Darcy said: “The Dublin game was one that we wanted to win early on, but look that didn’t happen, we are after getting a good draw against a good Kilkenny side.

“We still have Galway and Cork to play and it could also depend on other results too but we’re reasonably happy where we are on five points at the moment. We will continue to take it one game at a time starting with the Galway game next weekend.”