BY KIERAN McCARTHY
WITH only eight teams in this season’s West Cork League Premier Division, Clonakilty Soccer Club manager John Leahy has warned his side that there’s no room for error.
As well as Sullane pulling out this season, Mizen Hob have dropped into the Championship, leaving just eight teams in the top tier – that means each team has only 14 games compared to 18 last season.
Clonakilty Soccer Club start the defence of their Premier title this Sunday away to newly-promoted Drinagh Rangers B (2.30pm kick-off), a tricky tie according to Leahy who insists his team is ready to build on their historic title win last season.
‘We are hungry to win more,’ Leahy says.
‘After winning the league and the Beamish Cup last season, we are the hunted now this year, but we’re still hungry to win as much as we can.
‘To be known as a good team you need to win the league again, so that’s the main aim: to win the league.
‘This year, with only 14 league games, there is no room for error. You might get away with one slip-up, but that’s it. It will be a very tight league. Drinagh will be all out. Togher and Bunratty are great teams. Castletown Celtic could be a real dark horse here, so I’m expecting a right tough league.’
There have been slight changes to the Clonakilty Soccer Club squad as Conor McKahey is now lining out with Bandon AFC in the Munster Senior League, but a boost ahead of kick-off sees the timely return of Joe Edmead and Rob Downey from the States.
Manager Leahy is happy with how his squad is shaping up as he targets back-to-back Premier Division titles, with his side’s home form crucial – they went undefeated at home in the league last season, winning eight of their nine matches, scoring 41 goals and conceding only six in the nine games.
‘We have experience now, we know how to handle games so we have nothing to fear,’ Leahy feels.
‘We also fear no one at home in Darrara, we’ll back ourselves at home in any game, and we know how important home form is, especially now with only eight teams in the league.
‘We have a good group of players and a good squad and that’s important; we saw the value of having a deep squad in the final weeks of last season. This will be tough, we know that. There is no room for mistakes with the 14 league games and it will be a tight league.’
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