Críost Rí bid to turn tables on Macroom

Twice this season they failed to De La Salle, but Coláiste Chríost Rí are aiming to finally get the better of their Macroom opponents in this afternoon’s Corn Uí Mhuirí semi-final in Cloughduv.

Coláiste Chríost Rí coach Aidan Moynihan doesn’t have a difficult task in talking up today’s opponents. “They’re an excellent team and we’ve come out the wrong side of it when we’ve played them twice, in the group stages of this competition and in the Simcox final. I’d hope we’d be competitive from the word go. Since Ephie (Fitzgerald), Deccie (Creedon) and myself got involved, our main policy is that players have the right attitude and put in the work.”

Coláiste Chríost Rí produced an excellent display in difficult conditions to overturn St Brendan’s (Killarney) in the quarter-final but Moynihan had concerns about their finish. “I wasn’t happy that we gave away 1-3 in the last 10 minutes and they had a few other goal chances as well. We were hanging on but given the conditions, I suppose they were always going to come back at us. We were just happy we played positively in the first-half.”

The return of last year’s Cork minor Paul Fitzgerald from injury has been a considerable boost to Críost Rí. Moynihan agreed: “We missed him in the group games before Christmas. Since he has come back in around the middle we’re far more settled and there is now one of last year’s team in each line of our side. Our ball retention alone in the forwards has been sorted out to a degree. We’ve a guy called Ronan Scully who’s come in half-forward and his brilliant work-rate has also helped.”

Meanwhile, the other Corn Uí Mhuirí semi-final is an all-Kerry affair tomorrow at the Dr Crokes Grounds when Tralee CBS and Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne face off. Tralee recovered excellently from an opening group stages defeat to High School Clonmel. They beat tomorrow’s opponents to secure progression to the knockout stages and then beat Rochestown College in the last eight.

“We were missing a few important players that day against Clonmel,” says manager Fergus Clifford. “They were a very good team with a lot of Tipperary All-Ireland minor winners plus Chorca Dhuibhne were in the final last year so it was a tough group.”

The Tralee CBS team is backboned by the side that claimed the Frewen Cup title last March with few survivors from the outfit that reached the Corn Uí Mhuirí semi last year. They are also helped by the presence of Kerry star Marc Ó Sé amongst their coaching setup.

“Having one of the top inter-county footballers in the country working with the lads is bound to help,” agrees Clifford. “We’ve been with this team all the way up and Damien McLoughlin has also joined the management. There’s 12 of the Frewen team playing with Sean Moloney and Niall Sheehy the only two this year that started last year. But it’s going to be a tight game and I can’t see too much between the sides.”