BY SEÁN HOLLAND
AHEAD of Newcestown’s pivotal premier senior football clash with Nemo Rangers on Sunday in Cloughduv (4pm), manager Jim O'Sullivan is acutely aware of the challenge his team faces.
Having already navigated a mixed start to the group campaign, a 0-12 to 0-10 win over Éire Óg followed by a narrow 0-9 to 0-8 defeat to Ballincollig, Newcestown are keen to finish strong.
Reflecting on their initial two matches, O'Sullivan was pleased with the team’s opener but disappointed with their follow-up performance.
‘It was great to win the first game against Éire Óg. I was really happy with the performance. Our transition play was very good. Our point-kicking in the first half was excellent. We defended really well in the second half,’ O’Sullivan noted.
However, the Ballincollig game left O'Sullivan with some frustration, as Newcestown squandered scoring opportunities in a game that ultimately slipped away.
‘It was probably the Ballincollig game where we were most disappointed. I felt we left scores behind us. They were good on the day and they just outscored us by a point. It brought us back down to earth after Éire Óg,’ admitted the Newcestown boss.
Now all eyes turn to their upcoming match against Nemo Rangers, a team with a storied history of success both in Cork and beyond. O'Sullivan knows the magnitude of the task at hand.
‘Nemo are not only one of the top teams in Cork but in Munster and Ireland too. It’s going to be a huge challenge for us,’ he said. Despite the daunting opposition, O'Sullivan believes his squad is up for the fight, having already endured tough battles in other codes.
‘We’re after playing two of the other big guns in hurling in the Barrs and the Rockies and the lads acquitted themselves very well. It was always going to be a tough couple of weeks, but the boys relish it.’
O'Sullivan also touched on the noticeable differences between competing at premier senior and senior A level.
'The difference I see is that the speed of transition is really big and has a lot of physicality. With that, if you don’t take your scores, you’re going to be punished. You have to take your scores when they’re on. If you don’t, the good teams will punish you big time,’ O’Sullivan said.
In terms of personnel, Newcestown will be without All-Ireland U20 winner Gearoid O’Donovan, who has left for Abu Dhabi, a blow that O'Sullivan admits will be felt. ‘Gearoid is gone teaching in Abu Dhabi, so he’s going to be a huge loss,’ he said.
As for the permutations of this group, it’s a complicated scenario where anything is possible. O'Sullivan acknowledges that Newcestown’s fate depends on more than just their own result.
‘We could top the group or go through in second, we can be safe, or we can be in a relegation play-off – it all depends on other results. We can win the next day and not qualify. We can lose the next day and qualify. It all depends on other results and other scorelines. Twitter will be hopping on Sunday!’ he added.
Newcestown will approach Sunday’s clash against Nemo with everything still to play for. With the stakes high and qualification hanging in the balance, O'Sullivan and his team will need to be at their very best if they are to overcome one of the kingpins of Cork football.
