He might have stepped down as Kilcoo manager in the aftermath of February’s All-Ireland club success, but Mickey Moran rarely misses a chance to watch the Magpies in action.
Speaking after Sunday’s 1-9 to 0-4 victory over Mayobridge in the Down SFC semi-final, the man who took the reins from Moran along with Richard Thornton say the current management still seek counsel from the legendary coach.
Indeed, Conleith Gilligan reckons he’d speak to his fellow Derry native at least three times a week and can rely on Moran to deliver some home truths.
Read more: Kilcoo vs Mayobridge RECAP as holders ease into Down SFC final
“We’d talk to Mickey (Moran) maybe three times a week,” stated Gilligan.
“He is still very close to the group and he comes to all the games.
“I’ll always ring him in the car on the way home to see what he thought - he’ll give it to you whether you want it or not.
“The boys love Mickey and they love seeing him at the games - it gives them a lift. It is great to have him here.”
Moran’s assessment of Sunday’s first half would have been interesting as Kilcoo led Mayobridge 0-3 to 0-1 after a pedestrian first 30 minutes in Páirc Esler.
Steven Poacher’s side had plenty of possession, but they appeared unwilling to take shots from distance and didn’t want to risk carrying the ball into Kilcoo’s packed defence.
Stalemate ensued as the two team’s mirrored each other and the champions had more success with their free-taking in the first half.
The game opened up more in the second half with Darryl Branagan kicking two excellent points from play while Ryan Johnston fired over a fine effort with barely any backlift.
The only goal arrived late on when Niall Kane’s free dropped short of the target and Charlie Smyth spilled possession with Eugene Branagan getting the final touch before it crossed the line.
Gilligan believes the goal finally put the game beyond doubt and had no qualms with how Mayobridge set up to counter his side’s attacking threat.
“That’s how they (Mayobridge) play and they’d a bit of momentum after losing to Burren - they’d won three on the bounce,” said Gilligan.
“They play a very tight, compact game and when they get that running game going, they are very hard to stop.
“It was a bit of cat and mouse in the first half, nobody wanted to give any quarter. Once we got two or three points ahead, we just couldn’t get away.
“To be honest, had we not scored the goal, the game would have gone down the stretch.”
The Kilcoo boss is expecting another robust challenge from Warrenpoint in the decider later this month after St Peter’s progressed following a penalty shoot-out for the second time in under a week.
Shane Mulholland’s men defeated League champions Burren last Monday night on penalties and Sunday’s first semi-final against Loughinisland was also level after extra-time with Warrenpoint eventually winning 8-7 after sudden death.
Warrenpoint lost the 2019 decider to the Magpies by a single point and Gilligan feels their recent shoot-out victories highlights their resolve.
“They’ve been there or thereabouts for as long as we’ve been involved (with Kilcoo),” added Gilligan.
“They’ve come really close and they’ve a lot of really good players.
“You’ve seen tonight, the bottle they have - it would have been easy for them to give up when so many things went against them. Yet, they prevailed.
“They are a really good team and we’ll have to be at our best if we want to turn them over.”
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