BY SEÁN HOLLAND
THE final whistle of the premier junior football relegation play-off showdown on Saturday in Newcestown (4pm) will decide which Saint stays sanctified and which one falls from grace.
Both St James’ and St Nick’s find themselves on the brink of football purgatory, battling for survival, and the stakes couldn’t be higher.
For St James, this relegation decider marks the culmination of a challenging season. Despite their best efforts, the Saints from Ardfield have lost all three of their group-stage encounters, falling to Canovee, Cobh, and Kilmurry. It’s been a difficult journey for a team that just two years ago celebrated their triumphant rise to this division, having captured the 2022 Carbery title. Their two-year tenure in the premier junior football ranks now hangs by a thread.
Following an opening-round win over Kinsale in the 2023 championship, the Ardfield side have now lost five on the bounce in the grade. This year they were drawn in undoubtedly the toughest group in the grade. Top seeds Kilmurry were pipped to the post in the 2023 county final by St Finbarrs. Second seeds Cobh had made the county semi-final and were defeated by the same opposition, with junior A champions Canovee rounding off the group.
It was Canovee first up for St James’ and the Muskerry men proved too strong, winning out 1-14 to 0-11. They regrouped for their second group game and were extremely unlucky to fall just short of the other Muskerry side, Kilmurry, 2-7 to 1-9. The final game against Cobh is one the Ardfield men will want to forget only kicking three points from play in a 2-10 to 1-6 loss.
Yet, the Ardfield outfit has shown glimpses of the fighting spirit that got them here. They are a team with heart, grit, and a proud community behind them, all eager to avoid an immediate drop back to the lower ranks.
Their opponents, St Nick’s, are also no strangers to high-stakes football. They come into this clash with similar woes, having battled through a turbulent season of their own. That comes off the back of three consecutive relegations from senior to premier junior from 2020-23.
Both teams know that relegation would be a bitter blow. This is a chance to prove that they belong and that the effort and sacrifices of the past two years were not in vain.
The game promises to be a tense, nervy affair where every tackle, every pass, and every shot could be the difference between survival and relegation. For St James, it’s about channeling the energy that saw them crowned West Cork champions in 2019 and 2022 and bringing that same fire to the pitch. They’ll need leaders to step up, a solid defensive performance, and perhaps a moment of magic from a talisman to turn the tide in their favor.
Those leaders can be seen in every corner of the pitch. From veteran Diarmuid O’Donovan between the sticks all the way up to Frank Hayes at corner forward, those in football circles in Carbery know the talent this team possesses.
The repercussions of the junior A championship for 2025 are quite complicated should St James’ go down. To summarise briefly, if Goleen win the Carbery junior B, having already won promotion by winning the county B, they will be the only team going up and only one team will be relegated from junior A. That would entail a straight play-off between Clonakilty and Newcestown. If, however, a different team from Goleen wins the Carbery junior B then they and Goleen would be promoted and two teams would be relegated from junior A. That would mean Kilbrittain and Kilmeen having to play off with Clonakilty and Newcestown. If St James’ lose to St Nick’s, they would be relegated to junior A in Carbery next season another junior A team would have to be relegated to junior B to provide that place.
So with all that, can the Saints of Ardfield rise again, or will they be cast down to regroup and rebuild?
