COURCEY Rovers don’t have time to catch their breath. Just a week after rescuing their season, they’re straight back into championship action with an SE Systems Cork Senior Camogie preliminary quarter-final against Éire Óg at Castle Road this Saturday (5.30pm).
Their place in the knockout rounds was only secured last weekend, when they edged Cloughduv 2-11 to 2-9 in Blackrock. That result, combined with Ballinora’s 0-17 to 1-10 victory over Glen Rovers, lifted the Ballinspittle side to third in the group standings on the head-to-head rule.
Key to that win were Saoirse McCarthy (1-7) and Fiona Keating (1-2), who led the scoring charge, with Ciara O’Donoghue and Ann Marie Collins also chipping in.
After the relief and elation of survival, manager Sara Hayes and her players were back down to business this week, preparing for another do-or-die tie.
‘We’re getting better and better,’ Hayes told The Southern Star.
‘There were some decision-making issues that we tried to iron out. The workrate was the huge thing that lifted in the last game and I think that’s what got us over the line against Cloughduv.
‘I have been asking for big workrate. The championship is challenging because it is week-on-week. Recovery is key in between, and we’re trying to find that balance.’
Courcey Rovers' manager Sara Hayes.
Courceys had started the campaign on the back foot, with two losses. Glen Rovers beat them 2-16 to 1-12, before Ballinora edged a tight contest 1-15 to 2-11. That left the Cloughduv match as make-or-break – not only for progression, but for confidence.
‘It just shows that everything comes down to the last game. If Ballinora hadn’t won, we still would have been out,’ Hayes pointed out.
‘The first two games hit us hard. We came close in both and didn’t get over the line. We did in the third game, so we’re happy with that.
‘We were definitely on a low after the Ballinora loss. Just how it happened and everything else, we didn’t push over the line there. We had those nine days to rebuild and I think we did that. We did a good job and came out fighting, with heart and determination.
‘It was all to play for at that point. Cloughduv knocked us out in the last two years so we were delighted with the win.’
Now the focus shifts to Éire Óg. While the Muskerry club only managed one win in their group, it was emphatic – a 1-17 to 0-7 dismissal of Aghabullogue – and Hayes knows her side will need to be ready.
‘Éire Óg are lively, fast and they tend to run at the backline. It will come down to workrate and closing down the ball. We have our own dynamite up front as well,’ Hayes said.
‘Saoirse is playing really well at the minute and she is very hard to hold. They will have their own challenge there. We won’t underestimate them. We’ll do our homework and do what we can. We need to stick to our own gameplan too.’
The return of McCarthy from Cork duty and Keating from her travels abroad has transformed Courceys’ attack. Keating has even been handed the captaincy this season, a sign of the management’s faith in her leadership.
‘I know you don’t like depending on players, but they are huge players for us,’ Hayes said.
‘You’d expect Saoirse to bring huge workrate and she is doing that. She is producing the goods and the scores with it. You can depend on her to make the run.
‘Having Fiona for the full year this year for the first time, that makes a big difference. There is a bit more bite from her. She worked extremely hard the last day and she is quick and powerful up top. She is a very valuable player.’
