First cup final of the season totake place on Friday night
Friday night will see the first of this season’s cup finals take place as New Oak and St. Patrick’s battle it out in the KCLR Carlow Shield final in Killeshin. The tournament was run off at the start of the season mainly as a warm up for teams before the leagues started back.
This is a competition that New Oak have a great record in, going in as defending champions, having won three Shields in four years. In fact ever since Gavin Dowling took over as manager, they have never failed to make the final.
The two teams are going into the game on the back of differing levels of form. New Oak have been running rampant so far this season and have a 100% record in the league. Their only blemish so far this season is a 2-0 extra-time defeat to Wexford kingpins North End in the LFA Junior Cup. St. Pat’s are struggling in the league at the moment, having lost their last three league games. This is something that both camps are aware of.
St. Pat’s manager Patrick Brennan knows that it is a one off for his side and insists that it’s a chance to leave their league form behind them and really go out and give it their all.
“We look forward to it. It’s great to be in the first final of the year. We’re going to park where we are from a league perspective now and we just concentrate on the Shield,” Brennan explained. “It’s great. It’ll be a great occasion I’m sure. The league put on a great occasion last year for the Shield final and I’m sure it’ll be no different last game before Christmas,” he said.
He added that they’ll give it their all.
“It’s a final. It’s a one-off game. It’s completely irrelevant what’s gone before. It’s a one-off game and we’ll be treating it that way. We’ll have a chat on Tuesday night and we’ll horse them in the field and we’ll see where it takes us,” he said. “It’s a neutral venue. It completely takes on a life of its own. We’ll just go and we’ll give it a lash,” he added.
However, he knows the threat the Burrin Road side possess and knows it’s going to be a tough game.
“We’re not going particularly well at the moment, so we need to improve. We need to get better and we’re going to have to be really good to beat them next week. It’ll be our job to make sure that we just bounce in and we just give an account of ourselves. We just have to try and find a performance from somewhere against them again.
New Oak Assistant Manager Jamie Lawler says that they haven’t really been focusing on the game due to games in other competitions but says they’ll be keen to retain their title that they won when they beat St. Fiacc’s in extra-time earlier this year.
“We haven’t really thought about it to be honest. We’re after having some run of games recently, the North End game, and then you’re bringing Pats down, defending league champions coming into New Oak, and then we’re up here against Bagenalstown when you’re in a title race with them, so we haven’t really had time to speak about it much,” Lawler explained. “I’d say it’s a big game, and of course we want to win it with a massive record in the Shield,” he added.
He’s aware of the poor form that Pat’s are in right now but says that will just make them hungrier to go out and win because they have nothing to lose.
“I think it’s a game that Pats will be really focusing on as well, how can it not after not having the best start of the season, I think you can hear them saying that themselves, but it’s a game that could turn around their season as well if they want it, and kick them on for after Christmas. So, like, I’m sure that would be a brilliant game on Friday evening, and we look forward to it as well,” Lawler said.
He added that New Oak must not get carried away with their league victory over Pat’s last weekend and is well aware of the threat that the Pat’s players possess.
“We won’t be overconfident. At the end of the day, you look at the lads they have, the likes of Callum Warfield, he was excellent up in New Oak. And then you have plenty of other lads in the team last night. Joe Sunderland is back as well after a bad injury. They have plenty of lads that can cause damage,” he added.
“Even though we are going in on a good run of form, and the confidence will be there, we won’t be taking anything for granted. That’s a 50-50 game now next Friday night, and whoever wants it more and turns up in the night will be the ones walking away with it,” he concluded.
