IT’S a rivalry that has been brewing all year with nothing but a kick of a ball between the two senior A powerhouses.
Dohenys and Knocknagree will face off for the third time this season when the clubs clash in the Bon Secours Senior A Football Championship semi-final in Pairc Uí Chaoimh this Saturday at 5pm.
Dohenys manager Declan O’Dwyer is quietly confident about the Dunmanway side's chances but knows there’ll be very little to separate the teams in their latest meeting.
‘We know each other fairly well now having played twice this year in the league and we also met them two years ago in the quarter-final stage of the championship. We know what they're about – a big, physical team and well able to play football,’ the Dohenys manager says.
‘I know it’s a cliché but because we’re so evenly matched it will be a case of whoever puts in the better performance over the 60 minutes will get the result on Saturday.’
Dohenys' Sean Daly is a key man for the Dunmanway side.
Dohenys travelled to Knocknagree early in their Division 3 league campaign and triumphed by a solitary point, 1-6 to 1-5. The pair met each other once more in the league final where it was even closer, with the Dunmanway men coming out on top after extra-time by 1-14 to 1-13. Winning the league title, and promotion, has been a catalyst for this impressive championship run.
‘It was a big point of emphasis for ourselves this year to get promoted in the league and thankfully we got some silverware at the end of it. To win the title was a huge bonus,’ O’Dwyer says.
‘The club hasn’t won many titles in adult football in recent years so that was a massive boost for us going into the championship, which we’ve carried through winning all three championship group games (against Newcestown, Bishopstown and Ilen Rovers). Now the most important one is ahead of us.’
Dohenys full back Seán Daly, who will have a big role to play in stopping the Knocknagree attack, is counting down the hours to their county semi-final.
‘There’s a great feeling around the squad lately. We’ve only lost one game all year in league and championship. Everyone is buzzing at training and we’re fairly well up for the semi-final now,’ Daly says.
One big talking point county-wide regarding the round-robin format is whether it’s an advantage or not for a team that qualifies straight into a semi-final. With Dohenys, impressive group winners, going straight to the last four, Daly shared his thoughts on the matter.
‘It was definitely a positive to get straight into the semi-final, more so down to the conditions that were there the weekend of the quarter-finals. Like the weather wouldn’t have suited our game so we’re delighted to have had the luxury of being through to a semi-final,’ he says. ‘We managed to get a challenge game against St Finbarrs since, so we had the extra benefit of that without worrying about the result.’
Like his manager, Daly expects Saturday's clash to be a tight affair having had so many close encounters in the past. He cites their forward line as a key factor to a Dohenys win; their full-forward line of Keith White, Fionn Herlihy and Mark Buckley is brimming with scores and match-winners.
‘There have been plenty of battles between us the last few years. It was a dogfight two years ago in the quarter-final, we got a goal that day that spurred us on to a two-point win. You’d expect a similar tight game this weekend too,’ he says.
‘If our forwards can click and be on the same wavelength we have a great chance. The forwards have done a lot of work this year on their own accord. Hopefully they’ll continue that form into the semi-final.’
Dohenys are sweating over the fitness of their influential club captain Eoin Lavers who is still recovering from an injury sustained in their first round clash against Newcestown.
“Everyone around here and in the county knows how good of a footballer Eoin Lavers is. It’s 50/50 at the moment so we’ll see how he goes the next few days in training but as club captain, we’ll give him every opportunity to get right to play some part on Saturday,’ Declan O’Dwyer says.
In what should be another tight affair, the men from the west will be hoping to make it three from three against the Duhallow side this year and book their place in a county final.
