On Sunday next we contest our fourth East Cork Junior football final when we take on Fr O’Neills in Lisgoold. It’s all of nine months ago since the East Cork Junior ‘A’ Football Championship sponsored by Michael O’Connor Motor Factors commenced. On the national holiday, St Patrick’s Day, we travelled to Ballynoe to play Cloyne in the first round of this competition. We scored 3-4 but Cloyne had 2-8 so we were pipped by a single point. A Bride Rovers proposal to the East Cork Board a few years ago saw a ‘back door’ or losers group in the Junior ‘A’ Football Championship and the Junior ‘A’ Hurling Championship competitions in East Cork. This year we availed of that ‘second chance’ to stay involved in the J.A.F.C. With seven losing teams in Round One there were three games in Round Two and one bye. We received the bye and then met Glanmire (winners over Dungourney) in the third round. This game was played in April and we had a 1-13 to 0-4 win. This result saw us through to the quarter final against Glenbower Rovers. This ‘last 8’ game was played in Ballynoe in June and we won by 1-12 to 0-10. There was a long, long break then until October 15th for the semi final. In this tie we defeated Carrigtwohill in Watergrasshill on a 4-14 to 0-7 scoreline.
Having lost the 2002 and 2003 finals, we defeated Fr O’Neills in the 2004 final and now for the fourth tie in six years we’re in the final again. This is a great achievement as the East Cork Junior ‘A’ Football Championship is a hotly contested competition. Our football fortunes this year have been guided by Pat McHugh and two new selectors, Mossie O’Sullivan and Vincent Cronin with Vincent also acting as team coach. Just before the semi final we suffered a major blow when we lost Brendan Walsh through injury. Brendan is still out and all in the club wish him a speedy recovery. The team has trained well under lights for the last few weeks. We can expect a huge challenge from Fr O’Neills as they seek revenge for the 2004 final defeat. They are the only club in East Cork to have won several junior titles in both hurling and football in the last decade. They’ve competed at ‘A’ grade in the U-16 and minor competitions in recent years and will have a very young team on duty with perhaps as many as nine U-21 players on duty. Two years ago we had a longer lead-in to the final and were determined not to lose three finals in a row. Next Sunday will present a new and different challenge for our lads. They are fully aware that O’Neills will be formidable opposition. Go for it lads, this will be a hard championship to win but ye can do it.
Special thanks to the Rathcormac Tyre Centre and Terry Broderick’s company, Sika, for their valued sponsorship for the team. The game is fixed for Lisgoold at 2.30pm so let’s have a huge crowd of green, white and gold clad vocal supporters.
