BY SEÁN HOLLAND
URHAN are gearing up for a high-stakes clash against reigning junior A champions Canovee in the McCarthy Insurance Group Premier JFC quarter-final in Drimoleague on Saturday (5.30pm).
Despite narrowly losing to Buttevant in their final group game, Urhan's spirited performance ensured their progression to the knockout stages via points difference, setting the stage for an intriguing encounter.
‘We're looking forward to it but it's a massive challenge,’ said Urhan boss Ciarán O’Sullivan.
‘We played Canovee in the league earlier in the year, and we came out second best (Canovee won 3-12 to 1-12). They have improved since but the thing is we have improved too. But it's a big challenge. Canovee are a very good footballing side, with very dangerous scoring forwards. We've got our work cut out but we're going for it at the same time.’
Urhan's narrow 3-7 to 1-12 defeat to Buttevant was bittersweet. A performance described by O’Sullivan as their ‘best of the season’ saw them recover from a nine-point deficit to lose by just one point, a result combined with Millstreet's victory over St Nick’s that ultimately secured the Beara side’s place in the knockout stages.
‘It's quite unusual to be happy losing a game by one point, but knowing that you were through by doing that, that's what made it easy. The whole group was never as happy after losing a game,’ the Urhan boss said.
‘We started very well and finished exceptionally well. There was just a bit of a blip in the middle before half time where we coughed up two goals, from two mistakes of our own. We went from being a point down and within five minutes, we were eight points down. It was a huge turnaround.
‘We came back out and they got the first point in the second half and we were down nine. It didn't look good. But from then on, the boys just dug deep. They stayed at it and they gave it everything and brought it back to a point. At that stage, we knew that if the scoreline was low, even with a defeat, that we would get through because we had the result of the other game.’
As Urhan prepares for the formidable challenge posed by Canovee, they do so with a steely resolve. With a squad stretched thin by injuries and absences, the team knows they’ll need to dig deep. They will be without veteran sharpshooter Conchubar Harrington after he suffered a serious injury against Buttevant.
‘Conchubar, our elder statesman, came on as a sub with about eight minutes into the second half and he got a ferocious belt. He had to be taken away by ambulance; he got a knee into the back and he's got three broken ribs and a damaged lung. It's a major injury for himself, personally, but obviously a blow for the team also,’ O’Sullivan explained.
Urhan’s squad depth is being pushed to the limit as O’Sullivan highlights further.
‘Look, we're ferociously tight. We had 18 players togged out the last day. I was laughing when I saw the programme. They had 35. We had three subs. It’ll be the same again on Saturday. That's how tight we are,’ he explained.
‘We've lost people that have gone away and have two long-term injuries. From last year's starting 15, we're missing five. I'm not playing the poor mouth here because we have a great bunch of lads, but we are just so tight.'
