AND then there were four. We had to wait three weeks for the Beamish Cup quarter-finals to be completed but we finally got there, and four teams are left in the hunt for the most prestigious cup title in the West Cork League.
Last year’s finalists Clonakilty Soccer Club and Drinagh Rangers have been kept apart in Sunday’s semi-final double-header in Skibbereen, but can one (or both) of Bunratty United or Ardfield cause a cup giant-killing?
Clonakilty Soccer Club v Bunratty United
The first semi-final at 11.30am is an all Premier Division bout but looking at the table, this has a one-sided look to it. Defending champions Clon may have only beaten Bay Rovers and Togher Celtic by 1-0 margins in their cup run but this is a team that knows how to win. They haven’t lost any game since falling on penalties to Castleview in the Munster Junior Cup in September and haven’t lost a game in West Cork since their Premier Cup final defeat to Drinagh Rangers in June. With Chris Collins scoring 22 goals in 18 games and Joe Edmead, Rob Downey and Rueben Henry all key players, Clon look hard to beat.
Bunratty reached the final of this competition in 2023 so this isn’t unfamiliar territory. They may be second from bottom in the Premier but have won four of their last five games, hitting form at the right time. Milan Vearncombe hit a hat-trick against Baltimore in the quarter-final and saw them score six goals. It’s hard to look past Clonakilty here, though they have a habit of not making it easy for themselves in the cup.
Drinagh Rangers v Ardfield
The second semi-final in Skibbereen on Sunday (2pm) is a real David v Goliath clash as the Premier Division leaders face the side second bottom in the Championship. Ardfield manager John Lawless recently compared his team to Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup – this upcoming semi-final is as close to a bout with Manchester City as it gets in West Cork.
This is an Ardfield team that have had impressive cup results so it won’t be a walk in the park for Drinagh. A 4-3 win against Premier Division Dunmanway Town (a team who Drinagh dropped points to in the league). A 5-3 win over Premier Division Beara United. A 3-0 win over Spartak Mossgrove.
Paul Hodnett has scored 16 goals in 11 games this season too. If you want to pull off a giant-killing, you need a goal-scoring striker and Ardfield have that. There are a lot of cup positives for the underdogs but this is still a top-class Drinagh side that has won six of their last eight games and have only lost four all season.
Barry O’Driscoll (H) has scored 15 goals in 17 games. Robbie McQueen has had 15 goal contributions in 16 games. Keith Jagoe has had nine goal contributions in 13 games. All serious stats but the most impressive thing of all? Their experience. That might be just enough to get the favourites over the line but never doubt the magic of the cup.
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Admission prices for Sunday’s Beamish Cup double-header in Skibbereen: adults (over 18) €10, OAP €5, U18s free.
