Cork Premier SFC: Newcestown focus on St Finbarr’s after gruelling week

Colm Dinneen has been a star performer for Newcestown this season. Picture: Dan Linehan

For the second time in four days, Newcestown face into a senior championship game, with tonight’s Bons Secours Hospital Cork Premier SFC quarter-final with St Finbarr’s in Páirc Uí Chaoimh (7.30pm) representing the chance to reach a second consecutive semi-final.

However, having lost Sunday’s SAHC semi-final to Fr O’Neills in the wake of a hampered build-up – and with the death of club stalwart Jimmy O’Mahony – it’s little wonder that football manager Tom Wilson doesn’t describe the preparations for this re-arranged clash as ideal.

“Disjointed, I suppose, would be one word for it!” he laughed.

“We had a Covid scare in the club and our players had to play on Sunday without two players as a result because they were self-isolating.

“They’re out of self-isolation as of today [Tuesday] so they can play against the Barrs.

“The hurlers were preparing all last week and then we had Jimmy O’Mahony’s funeral, so it has made preparing for this game extremely difficult.

“But, look, we just have to get on with it.”

Newcestown have a high level of crossover from hurling to football, meaning that the quick turnaround from Sunday is tough from a physical point of view. However, Wilson hopes that the team can use it as a motivating factor.

“I would hope so,” he said.

Having this to look forward to has hopefully allowed them to re-focus quickly and they’ll be ready and all guns blazing for it.

Newcestown finished second in their group to Castlehaven – who the winners of tonight’s game meet in the last four – having overcome Carbery Rangers in their final, winner-take-all clash. Tadgh Twomey, Colm Dinneen and David Buckley have been among their stand-out performers to date and Wilson and his selectors do at least have the luxury of a nearly full-strength squad to choose from.

“Trevor Horgan is injured,” he said, “but, other than that, we’d hope to have a full squad.

“He came on as a sub the last day and he was quite influential but he has picked up another injury.”

Newcestown last met St Finbarr’s in the championship in 2017, a 3-13 to 0-8 defeat in round 2B. The city side went on to reach the final of that year’s championship, losing to Nemo Rangers after a replay, before going a step in further in 2018 and regaining the title after a 33-year wait as they beat Duhallow.

The Barrs have been very impressive to date, with Cork captain Ian Maguire, Steven Sherlock and Cillian Myers Murray all on song for them. Wilson is well aware of the threat that the Togher outfit pose but he expects a strong showing from his side.

“We know what we’re going to get from them,” he said.

“They were county champions a couple of years ago but we’re now in that territory where you’re in with the big guns.

We got to a county semi-final last year, we don’t want to take a backward step from that so we want to reach another one this year.