The “massive test” provided by Killeavy was exactly what Clann Eireann needed, says star man Conor Turbitt. The Lurgan side looked comfortable in the first half, but the league champions made them sweat in the second period.
In the end, just two-point separated the sides when the referee’s whistle blew on Sunday evening. It’s Clann Eireann who advance to the Senior Championship semi-finals where they will face Madden.
Turbitt was pleased with elements of their performance, particularly in the first 30 minutes. While Killeavy rallied and raced back into the contest, Turbitt was happy how his side “stood up towards the end”.
“It was a massive test and it was exactly what we needed,” Turbitt told Armagh TV. “Whenever we saw the draw come through, we were probably happy because we wanted a good test and that’s exactly what we got.
“We knew that they are a good, young side and they were going to bring everything they had and they did. To be fair, I think we stood up towards the end. It probably wasn’t pretty in that second half but we stood up and we got over the line.
“There was a bit of a wind in the first half so we were able to hit the two-pointers. But in the second half the wind was holding it up and it probably turned into more of a running game for us. We were able to clip a few scores and just stretch it out that wee bit further.”
While there’s plenty of experience inside the Clann Eireann changing room, their age profile is brilliant as well. Most of the players have two county medals in their back pockets, but are hungry for more success.
“I was looking around me in the changing room before taking the pitch and the age profile of our team is still extremely young. We just have a lot of boys that have played senior level for a long time. We’re getting to know what to expect from each other and that does help.”
