NEW Cork ladies football manager Joe Carroll is intensifying preparations for the coming season following the announcement of the 2025 national league fixtures, which includes a home game at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
The Rebels will play their first competitive game under Carroll in a Division 2 opener against Westmeath at the end of January.
Following that, three tough away games against All-Ireland finalists Galway, Tipperary and Monaghan precede back-to-back home matches against Clare and Roscommon, the latter having been moved to SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh as part of a triple-header involving the Cork senior footballers (v Roscommon) and hurlers (v Kilkenny). Disappointingly, that also means a clash with the Cork camogie senior's league game away to Dublin on the same Saturday, March 1st afternoon.
A long trip to Donegal rounds off Cork’s league assignments in late March before, hopefully, contesting a Division 2 final on the second weekend in April.
‘It is good that we are at home in our first league game,’ Carroll told The Southern Star.
‘Travelling on the road might be a help as well in the next three games because we’re together a bit longer on the day and it will help gel the group together.
‘Having three away games, one after the other, is going to put a small bit of pressure on us. The third-level colleges’ O’Connor Cup will be starting up around that time of the year as well, so that’s going to put pressure on some of the players with mid-week games.
‘Cork being Cork, some of the other counties will be looking to put one over on us. They will be well up for facing Cork, there’s no doubt about that, so we will have to be ready.
‘There will be a lot to contend with but, look, we are happy enough to be facing Westmeath at home in the first game. We will take things from there.’
Carroll and his management team are still in the early stages of deciding on a senior panel for the 2025 campaign. The winter months and new year period will give the Cork senior set-up ample time to finalise their squad ahead of the league.
‘When we took over in November, we said we’d give it November, December and January to consider as many players as possible,’ Carroll explained.
‘We have looked at a lot of players and are bringing in a few more in. It takes a while to adjust to an inter-county setup as the demands are very, very high. It is training four times a week between the gym and the pitch. Some gel well to it, some don’t.
‘That is why we are going to take our time making any decisions. Some players are what I’d call slow starters and need time to get accustomed to what’s required of them. The intensity of inter-county training is a big step but we want to give them all an opportunity.’
Another plus for the county’s new management team is having witnessed plenty of contenders for next year’s Cork senior panel during the recent club championships.
‘There were a lot of players who stood out during the county championships whatever grade they were playing,’ Carroll added.
‘We want to give a lot of those players a chance to shine in a Cork jersey. Many of them were underage stars but underage stars don’t make seniors all the time.'
Cork 2025 National League Division 2 fixtures: Sunday, January 26th v Westmeath (H), Sunday, February 2nd v Galway (A), Sunday, February 9th v Tipperary (A), Sunday, February 23rd v Monaghan (A), Saturday, March 1st v Roscommon (H), Sunday, March 23rd v Clare (H), Sunday, March 30th v Donegal (A), Saturday, April 12th – Division 2 National League final.
