BY SEÁN HOLLAND
‘BOTH teams are looking at this game the same way in that it is a stepping stone to a county semi-final. For neutrals, a derby between two big West Cork towns will only add to the occasion’ – David O’Donovan, Bandon manager (Southern Star, September, 2019).
The more things change the more they stay the same. Above are the words of then-Bandon manager David O’Donovan as his team prepared for a clash with Bantry Blues in the 2019 Cork premier intermediate football championship quarter-final. That game finished level 1-13 apiece. The replay resulted in a two-point win for Bantry and despair for O’Donovan and Bandon. Five years later O’Donovan is on the opposite sideline, coaching a Bantry team bidding to defeat the side he brought from the junior ranks to senior.
The Bantry boss is looking forward to the opportunity to face a side he knows as well as any – this PIFC derby has a 2pm throw-in in Dunmanway on Sunday.
‘I'd have a good relationship with a lot of the older lads that were there when I was with them. They were a great bunch of lads. We had some great days together but all of that will be parked for an hour on Sunday,’ O’Donovan said.
It was a contrast of fortunes in round one for the two Carbery teams, with Bandon losing to Naomh Abán (0-12 to 0-9), while Bantry had a comprehensive 2-20 to 1-13 victory over Nemo Rangers. O’Donovan was quite pleased with his side's performance against the Trabeg second string.
'We were delighted with the win anyway, first and foremost. We shot 2-20, which is big shooting. But that’s how the game went, there was no negative football. No one played with any sweepers or anything. It was just 15 on 15 and, you know, let the best man win,’ he remarked.
After a challenging league campaign where Bantry struggled due to various factors, O'Donovan reflects on the turning point that set the stage for their impressive win against Nemo Rangers.
‘We had a very poor league just based on the fact that we'd been on the go for a couple of years non-stop and a lot of our lads just took a break,’ O’Donovan explained.
‘We had lads away with inter-county duty and fellas doing exams so we really didn't get the full panel back together until after the June bank holiday and we put in a big shift in for seven weeks to get ready for Nemo. I suppose everybody just likes to see the work that they're doing, moving things in the right direction.’
Bantry’s near misses in this grade have been well documented, losing the last two county finals, so the opportunity to get back into championship action was a welcome one. After securing the decisive victory against Nemo, Bantry's focus now shifts to their crucial second-round clash against Bandon.
‘You're waiting seven or eight months for the championship to come around and, I suppose there's kind of a nervous energy about the first game. So, look, we were glad to get it over and done with. It's only step one of three now with the new format, and the second game now takes on a huge magnitude,’ he added.
