Newcestown footballers in must-win territory

A WIN: that is what is required for Newcestown when they face Bishopstown on Sunday (2pm) in Cloughduv in the Bon Secours Senior A Football Championship.

Avoiding defeat would be enough for the city side to progress to the quarter-finals so the West Cork club has to go all out to win this one.

‘It’s in our hands. We have to win the game, it’s as simple as that,’ Newcestown boss Tim Buckley said.

‘If we can keep our concentration for 60 minutes, hopefully we can win. Things will go wrong, it is inevitable that they do in a 60-minute game but it’s the character of the team that will get us over the line.’

Newcestown lost the first West Cork derby to Dohenys, 0-9 to 0-8, but followed it up with a gutsy win over Ilen Rovers, 0-14 to 1-9, to get back on track. There has been no let up for Buckley’s men and Sunday will be no different.

‘From the day we got beaten by Dohenys, every game was a knockout game for us. We've been in that situation since day one. All to play for,’ the Newcestown boss said.

There were aspects of Newcestown’s performance in the Ilen match that pleased Buckley but there is still a lot to work on if they are to overcome Bishopstown.

‘We played excellently against Ilen in the first half and lost our way in the second half for a bit. We still got over the line and I think the lads would have learned from the hurt of losing to Dohenys. It was a good test of character when things were going against them to get back on the horse,’ Buckley admitted.

Heading into Sunday, Newcestown has a full panel to pick from.

‘The good thing this year, we have had no injury problems bar maybe one out. This championship format is grand once you don’t start breaking down with injuries. So far so good,’ he said.