WEST Cork dual specialists Newcestown enjoyed a welcome break ahead of an intense period of county football and hurling demands.
Niall O’Sullivan’s hurlers are back on the pitch against Midleton in their Co-op Superstores county Premier Senior Hurling Championship Group 2 clash in Páirc Uí Rinn on Saturday (5.15pm).
The game will be part one of a premier senior double-header with Sarsfields and Erin’s Own taking place immediately after (7pm).
Having lost to Charleville in round one, 2-23 to 0-18, the West Cork club is under pressure but having the past week off may stand to them.
‘When you’re in the championship, you want to keep the intensity high and keep it going. We have proved that in years gone by,’ Newcestown’s Niall O’Sullivan told The Southern Star.
‘We are in the top table, premier senior, in both codes. We’re asking a lot. We basically have a full overlap of our players with hurling and football.
‘The weekend off gives the lads time to draw a breath. The extra break was welcome and needed especially in terms of the dual club. We are a proud dual club and we will stay that way. Certainly, it is a balancing act.’
Richard O’Sullivan was Newcestown’s top scorer last time out with 0-10 while Luke Meade, Jack Meade and David Buckley are capable of mixing it with the county’s best hurlers.
The West Cork dual club’s players were putting in the hard yards earlier this week, in spite of a welcome break from championship matches.
To keep the sharpness up, Newcestown trained in both codes so that they are ready for their upcoming hurling clash and their football bout against Mallow the following weekend.
‘We trained Sunday morning, Tuesday and Thursday. With the joys of being a dual club, the lads played a bit of football last week after the Charleville game. Sometimes, it’s just good to reset and allow lads to enjoy their football and come back in fresh into the hurling week,’ O’Sullivan added.
Last time out, Newcestown were 1-14 to 0-13 down to Charleville with 20 minutes remaining and very much in the game.
Ultimately, it was a defeat that has left O’Sullivan’s side on the back foot, especially with 2021 champions Midleton and a Newtownshandrum on the horizon.
‘We’ll dust ourselves down, it’s the joys of the group stage. You have three games in each code,’ O’Sullivan said.
‘The Charleville game was very disappointing. Looking back, an eleven-point defeat wasn’t fully reflective of the game.
‘Our performance was off on the day and the best way to deal with that is to get out on the field, let lads express themselves and to put in a good performance this weekend.’
Easier said than done considering this weekend’s opponents Midleton have reached three of the last four county semi-finals.
The Magpies have inter-county stars Conor Lehane, Tommy O’Connell and Brion Saunderson amongst their ranks along with the in-form forwards Cormac Beausang and David Cremin.
‘Midleton are probably one of the top four or five teams in Cork. They have a huge history and huge pedigree,’ O’Sullivan noted.
‘We know what is in front of us. We’ll respect Midleton and we’ll go into the game as in with any other game. We’ll look to play our own game and put our own stamp on it. We know what we are up against on the day.’
It’s unclear what shape the West Cork side will be in come Saturday in terms of availability.
Despite the weekend off, a few minor injuries are still being nursed.
‘We picked up a couple of niggles in the Charleville game so lads took a break last week. We’ll see how the days coming into the Midleton game go,’ the Newcestown boss explained.
‘We’re not in a position to make final decisions yet on lads available to us. It’s the nature of the dual club again.
‘Football and hurling play part and parcel, good physical games. Injuries are part and parcel and like every other team, we have to deal with those too.’
