All Cork final a real possibility after Intermediate Cup quarter-final draw

Defending champions Rockmount will face Kilbarrack United and Ringmahon Rangers will take on Willow Park in the quarter-finals of the FAI Intermediate Cup.

Should Rockmount progress, they will face the winners of Skerries Town and Lucan United away from home in the semi-finals.

If Ringmahon get to the semi-finals, they will face the winners of Home Farm or Drumcondra AFC and Cockhill Celtic at home.

This creates the possibility of an all-Cork final, something that last happened in 2008 when Rockmount faced Douglas Hall.

The draw was made on Thursday afternoon at Abbotstown and the quarter-final ties are expected to take place on the weekend ending February 19.

This will be followed by the semi-finals, which are pencilled in for the weekend ending March 19.

Rockmount are looking at defending their title, something never before achieved by the club. They are also hoping to become the first team from Cork to retain the Intermediate Cup since Avondale United in the early 2010s.

NEAR MISSES

Ringmahon are just hoping to lift the cup for the first time after a number of near misses in the competition in recent years.

It’s the one trophy that has eluded one of the most storied clubs in Cork soccer, an absence made worse by the fact that they have never reached the final.

They did reach the semi-finals in 2016 and 2020, but they fell short on both occasions to Letterkenny Rovers and Killester Donnycarney FC.

Ringmahon’s mission to win the Intermediate Cup is heightened by their recent run in the Munster Senior League.

Aidan Foley’s team sit just one point off league leaders Midleton and they will play Treaty United in the Munster Senior Cup quarter-finals this weekend.

The success that Ringmahon are craving is the reality that Rockmount realised last year as they lifted three trophies and got to another final.

The northsiders won the Intermediate Cup, Munster Senior League Premier Division, and the O’Connell Cup. They also reached the Keane Cup final and the quarter-finals of the Beamish Stout Senior Cup, and they lost on both occasions to College Corinthians.

It was a season that nearly saw Rockmount complete a clean sweep of silverware, a run which also saw the club reach the semi-finals of the Munster Senior Cup.

Such success hasn’t had the slightest impact on the hunger at the club as the team remains driven to win more trophies, as illustrated by their run to the quarter-finals of this season’s Intermediate Cup.

Rockmount have already knocked out Douglas Hall, Macroom, Carrigaline United, and Usher Celtic on their way to the last eight of the competition.

Ringmahon had a similar journey to this point as they had to see off Blarney United, Carrigtwohill United, and St Mochta’s.