BY SEÁN HOLLAND
LIAM Anthony White is a link between Clonakilty Soccer Club’s present and past.
Last Sunday he picked up his second Beamish Cup medal after the club ended their 16-year wait for this title; he was also part of the last Clonakilty squad to win the cup back in 2008.
White, Iain O’Driscoll and Shane Buttimer are the three Clon players who now have two Beamish Cup medals in their collection. There is one medal, however, that nobody in Clonakilty Soccer Club has: the Premier Division league medal.
Clonakilty currently lead the Premier Division by two points over Togher Celtic, with Beamish Cup finalists and current league title holders Drinagh Rangers still in the mix, as the race for the league title hots up.
‘The Beamish Cup is done now. We have to push on. There's a chance of a double there,’ White told this week’s Star Sport Podcast.
‘Togher are still in the mix and they have to play Drinagh. We know Drinagh are always going to fight until the very end, too. Both teams have a good chance of winning it, so it's an important month ahead. We just have to put the Beamish Cup in the back-mirror for now. We've three big league games coming up, and they're all very difficult fixtures as well. That’s solely where the focus will be for the next month.’
Speaking on what a Premier Division title would mean to Clonakilty, White expressed its importance on keeping soccer to the forefront in a town steeped in sport..
‘It would be great because Clonakilty have never won the (West Cork Premier) league, which is pretty crazy, considering all the talented players that have come through the town over the years. But there's a chance,’ White said.
‘It would mean a lot to the people in this town to win it. I think it would be good too for soccer in the town. There are a lot of young guys coming through. We had two guys who came on Sunday who are doing their Leaving Cert in a few weeks; you need that conveyor belt of young guys coming through as well. I think with the talented squad that's there now with a lot of guys in their mid-20s, there's a lot of potential for a lot more cups and leagues in the next few years if they can stick together’.
