Jerome Johnston junior was glad to put a tough week behind himself and his family with an impressive Kilcoo victory over the weekend.
The All-Ireland champions disposed of Monaghan kingpins Ballybay in clinical fashion at Clones to set up an Ulster semi-final encounter with Enniskillen Gaels in a fortnight. It was a difficult week for the Johnston family with father Jerome stepping aside from his role as joint manager with Ballybay.
Johnston had told Ballybay when he originally accepted the post that he wouldn’t coach against his home club and his three sons - Ryan, Jerome and Shealan - if it ever came to it.
Read next: Jerome Johnston steps aside as Ballybay boss ahead of Kilcoo clash
And it did last Sunday, with Johnston stepping aside over the last week and leaving fellow joint manager Mark Doran in charge, rather than plan against his sons, nephews and club.
“We knew the whole time what he had decided a while ago,” said Jerome junior.
“It wasn’t mentioned. It was probably in the back of our heads but not something we spoke about.
“Anyone who knows daddy, it’s one game at a time. He’d drive that into you at home.
“I don’t actually live in the home house. I’d be hopping in and out.
“It was a tough week for him, my mum and everyone because it was getting so much attention.
“Anywhere you looked it seemed to be the first thing coming up.
“It was one of those things you tried to nullify as much as you could but it was still in the back of your head.”
Johnston got an appreciation for what his father was faced with when he looked at his own son, Lár on the morning of the game.
“I put myself in that position,” he continued. “It’s hard because he had three sons and six nephews involved.
“I think he did the right thing in terms of being true to himself. Unless someone’s been in that position, it’s really hard to say.”
In the end the story of the weekend was how impressive Kilcoo were against a Ballybay side which had defeated two top Ulster club sides in Scotstown and Crossmaglen.
On the other side of the draw Derry’s Glen passed a tough examination against Errigal Ciaran and now face neighbours Cargin, who shocked Donegal’s Naomh Conaill Glenties in a penalty shoot out.
“They (Ballybay) put two massive performances together and the nation was able to see that when they played Crossmaglen, six-time All-Ireland winners and played really, really well,” says Johnston.
“We knew what we were coming up against not having had a competitive game, or any type of game in four weeks - even a challenge game.
“So it was about finding our feet, settling in and seeing where we could take it and thankfully we got the result.”
Kilcoo posted 2-14, with 1-5 of it coming from the goalkeeper and three defenders.
Their tackling in numbers and pacey counter attacking play was too much for Ballybay to handle.
They look a more potent attacking force than the outfit that needed extra-time to defeat Glen, St. Finbarr’s and Kilmacud Crokes en route to their first All-Ireland success last January.
Their skill levels look higher and their conditioning is as impressive as ever.
With Clonmel Commercials (Tipperary) looking the part in taking out Nemo Rangers, Glen (Derry) shaping up well, Kilmacud Crokes (Dublin) looking very strong and Moycullen (Galway) flying the All-Ireland race looks wide open.
Conleith Gilligan’s outfit look a more rounded side than last year’s version - having nine different scorers suggests as much - but with tougher challenges ahead Johnston wasn’t saying it.
“It’s hard to know,” he continued. “The job was to get the win and we’ve done that.
“We’ll look back and review it and take it from there. It’s hard to say from one performance where exactly we are.
“It’s hard to say because the ground is changing as well and some teams adapt to the conditions better than others.
“We’re happy to get the result and we have to go back and work harder again to get a result the next day.”
Evergreen Conor Laverty was the fulcrum again, laying on the critical first goal, firing a point and having a hand in two more scores.
It will be fascinating to see which Kilcoo players the Down manager drafts into his squad for 2023.
Kilcoo will be favourites now to turn over Enniskillen and qualify for their fifth Ulster final as they go in search of a third provincial crown.
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