TALKING POINTS: Can Kilmacabea footballers kick on after county junior A success?

COUNTY, AT LAST!

The county junior A football championship title is the one that Kilmacabea wanted. And their wait is now over. The Leap-Glandore club won five Carbery Junior A Football Championship titles in nine years but endured near misses on the county scene. From losing the 2018 final by the minimum to Dromtarriffe in 2018 to a narrow semi-final loss to Inniscarra last year, it was near miss after near miss. For this golden generation of Kilmacs footballers, they were desperate to finish the job and they did so in style. The challenge now is to push on in the premier junior football championship. Considering the likes of Knocknagree, Kilshannig, Uibh Laoire and Kilmurry have kicked on since their junior A triumphs, who’s to say Kilmacabea can’t repeat the trick.

FRESH VOICE

To get that extra edge to take that next step, Kilmacabea thought outside the box, but didn’t look that far, just next door to Castlehaven. James McCarthy is a man who knows how to win, and has brought home county senior titles to his home club. He helped out his neighbours Kilmacabea in recent months, as manager Donie O’Donovan explained: ‘We felt we needed a bit extra to get us over the line, and James McCarthy was the difference. He has been involved with us for the past three months, and I have no hesitation in saying we wouldn’t be here today without him.’

TEAM OF HEROES

In recent weeks, we have touched on the plethora of players that have had key contributions to Kilmacabea’s journey. Damien Gore is their star attacker. Captain Ian Jennings excelled in the West Cork final. Daniel O’Donovan was the main man against Carraig na bhFear in the county quarter-final. In the county final, it was Eamonn Shanahan, and he hit 0-5 from play. To be fair, Ronan Shanahan’s goal was crucial too so you could say it was a double Shanahan dose that killed off Donoughmore. A great sign of a team is different players stepping up at different times – the Kilmacs have emphasised this year that they are more than just one man, hence why their county champions.