THE rock at the heart of Clonakilty Soccer Club’s defence is hopeful they will rock Turner’s Cross in this Sunday’s Beamish Cup final against Drinagh Rangers (2pm).
Premier Division leaders Clonakilty have enjoyed a fantastic season to date but Paul Daly stresses that they aren’t taking anything for granted this year.
‘Just because we're getting to finals doesn't mean we're guaranteed anything. We don't take anything for granted,’ he says ahead of Sunday’s showdown which offers the chance to pick up some silverware.
‘We are in a good position at the moment. We're lucky this year in the sense that we've a few new players on board, a few new faces that have really added to the squad,’ Daly explains.
‘Something we're definitely blessed with this year is a larger squad. That was maybe a downfall in the last few years where when it came to crunch time, any few players missing made a big difference. That's the nature of soccer in West Cork, too, that teams can be a bit slack at times with GAA and other factors. But this year now, in particular, we do have the numbers to challenge.
‘We've been thereabouts the last few years and fallen at the last hurdle. That's in the back of our mind, too. It's a motivator as much as anything. Until we achieve something, we'll be the underdogs in the situation, especially when you’re playing the likes of Drinagh. Over the years they have the reputation for getting to these finals and being very hard to beat.
‘We know how difficult it’s going to be, but we can only look at ourselves and concentrate on the games we're playing. We treat every game like it's a final.’
Looking ahead to Sunday, Clonakilty will grace Turner's Cross. It’s a fantastic opportunity for these players to play on the best pitch in the county.
‘This is what we play for. We want to get to finals. We want to win as much as we can. We don't focus on any one particular competition, be it the Beamish Cup or the league. I think it doesn't matter how many times you play in Turners Cross, you want to be playing in places like that. The pitch is pristine,’ Daly said.
‘Hopefully, there'll be a few able to travel up. Just to help create that atmosphere for both sides, it's nice to play in front of a crowd as well. I've played there twice now in Beamish Cup finals, but you’re never going to lose that excitement. It is the place to be. I know that some of the other lads on the team haven’t played there before so it’s great for them too.’
Clonakilty will have the chance to right the wrongs of previous campaigns this Sunday. This team has been on the wrong side of three finals – as Clonakilty Soccer Club in 2022 and ’21, and some with Clonakilty Town in 2020 – but there’s the opportunity now to grab that elusive Beamish Cup title this weekend.
‘We had three final losses in a row in this cup and it’s tough to take when you get that far and fall short. Maybe we went in with the wrong mentality thinking that at the time we might have been doing well in the league and we took that as, if we're doing well in the league, we'll do well here. But you can never rule out any team,’ Daly said.
‘Even in 2022, Lyre weren't necessarily doing great in the league, I think they might have been battling at the bottom but they brought their A-game on the day and they pipped us to it. We're realistic at the same time – just because we're getting to finals doesn't mean we're guaranteed anything. We don't take anything for granted.
‘In fairness now to Johnny (Leahy) and Lorne (Edmead), our coaches, they keep us goal-oriented and make sure that we don't get ahead of ourselves.’
