Dohenys embracing challenge of being frontrunner in county senior A football championship

BY GER McCARTHY

DECLAN O’Dwyer knows his Dohenys team will be ranked as one of the frontrunners for McCarthy Insurance Senior A Football Championship glory this season, but he insists the Dunmanway side is adopting a one-game-at-a-time approach.

A terrific run to last season’s county senior A decider saw Dohenys come up short to West Cork neighbours Newcestown, losing 0-13 to 0-8 at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh, and this season they want to go one step further.

Dohenys boss O’Dwyer has overseen a productive Division 2 football league campaign that delivered five wins, four losses and a mid-table finish – and he is hopeful that’s a solid springboard for the county championship.

‘There was an emphasis on this year’s league in that we wanted to make sure we got points on the board as early as possible,’ O’Dwyer told The Southern Star.

‘I’ll be honest, you cannot beat the quality of games we got in Division 2 this year. It was a huge advantage for us. Last year, we targeted getting out of Division 3. This year we wanted to ensure we stayed in Division 2 because it is important for this group of Dohenys players development. Thankfully, we did that early on after getting four wins out of our first four league games.

‘That allowed us to try out different ways of playing for the remainder of the league. So, we got a lot out of it and blooded a lot of young fellas that have been on our panel for the last few years too. The league was definitely beneficial for us heading into the championship.’

As last year’s county runners-up, Dohenys have to accept they will be amongst the favourites for this year’s Senior A title. There are plenty of contenders in the most competitive of grades, not least O’Dwyer’s side’s Group B opponents Kanturk, Fermoy and West Cork rivals O’Donovan Rossa.

‘If you finish in the top two of the championship from the year before, you have to accept that other teams will see you as potential favourites,’ the Dohenys manager admitted.

‘Look, we have had three or four really good years in the grade. We have been to the county semi-finals (2021), quarter-finals (2022) and the final (2023). Senior A is massively competitive though.

‘Do you try to play it down (potential favourites tag)? Of course you do but you also tell your players that other clubs will be after us now. They are embracing that. Our group is getting more and more experienced. As for this year, I know it is a cliché, but for us it will be all about getting out of the group first and then seeing where we are.’

That cliché has relevance when you consider the threat posed by battle-hardened opponents Fermoy and O’Donovan Rossa. First up this Friday evening in Macroom are Kanturk however, who exited last year’s knockout stages on penalties to eventual champions Newcestown.

‘It is a brilliant competition but the only thing is you do end up meeting the same teams quite a bit,’ O’Dwyer stated.

‘We met Fermoy a few years ago but haven’t faced Kanturk during my time in charge. As for Skibbereen, we had some great battles with them over the last few seasons and have a win each. Being honest, we have not thought about Fermoy or Skibbereen. The county championship comes around so quickly that our only focus has been on Kanturk in the opening game.

‘They are a very good team, very strong and a big physical opponent. So, we know we have our work cut out for us to be totally honest about it.’

DOHENYS’ SAFC GROUP 2 FIXTURES: Friday, July 26th – v Kanturk in Macroom at 7.45pm; Saturday, August 17th – v Fermoy in Ballygarvan at 7pm; Sunday, September 15th – v O’Donovan Rossa in Rossmore at 2pm.