Cork U20 football: Talented young guns ready for Munster championship

THE Cork U20 footballers will be hoping to improve on the 2022 season. 

Manager Bobby O’Dwyer, who’s in his second year in charge, has many new players at his disposal. The Urhan native has assembled a high-profile management team, Carthach Keane, Ciarán Sheehan, Kieran Cronin, Ollie ‘Rue’ O’Sullivan, John Hayes and Pat Prendergast are the selectors.

While he isn’t a newcomer on the U20 team, Hugh O’Connor is a player that has caught the eye so far this year. 

The Newmarket youngster suffered a serious injury last year and missed the season, but is back on track and is firmly part of the plans this season and impressed in the John Kerins Cup and other challenge games this year.  Cork will meet either Limerick or Waterford in the Munster semi-final on Monday, April 17.

The North-Cork player played a big part in the Cork minors winning the Munster title in 2021, with O’Connor scoring 1-7, of which all but two came from play, in a 1-17 to 0-13 success over Limerick in the provincial decider. 

It was no surprise the wily player was named man-of-the-match after the game.

Speaking to The Echo ahead of the Munster championship, the Newmarket clubman is looking forward to the new campaign after missing the 2022 season for both club and county due to injury, as he explains.

“The preparations have gone quite well, we all can’t wait for the championship to start. 

We had three good games in the John Kerins Cup even though we probably didn’t play as well as we would have liked. 

"Things are finally falling into place, we have had a lot of injuries so far this season, but slowly but surely we are getting close to full strength, even though there are still a few to come back. 

"I know from my own experience, it’s very difficult to be out injured, I tore my LCL last year, I had to get surgery on my knee. 

"I missed the championship with Newmarket and Cork, it was a difficult time on a personal level, but I am full recovered now and looking forward to the season ahead.” 

A player that featured heavily last season and will be a key player once again this year will be Valley Rovers' Jacob O’Driscoll. 

The 19-year-old hopes the Munster final defeat to Kerry last season will provide motivation going into the game against either Limerick or Waterford.

“We probably didn’t play as well as we would have liked down in Tralee last season, it was a long journey home that night, and even though a good few of the players from last season have moved on, there are quite a number that played in the Munster final that are involved this year and there’s no doubt we were hurt after that game, we have learned lessons from it and hopefully it will stand to us. 

"There are a lot of new players this season and they have definitely added something new.” 

Regardless of who Cork face in the semi-final, whether it’s Limerick or Waterford, the UCC student studying BIS is under no illusions that it will be a difficult game.

“We will respect Limerick or Waterford, but the most important thing is to focus on ourselves. 

We played Limerick in the semi-final last year and it was a tight game all the way up to the 45th minute, we pulled away in the last quarter, but we got a proper game. 

"Limerick have been competitive at this grade in recent years, we know as a group that we have to perform if we want to progress to the Munster final, it will be a tough game regardless of who wins the quarter-final tie.” 

There is positivity in Cork football, with the senior team heading in the right direction under the management of John Cleary, and there’s no doubt Bobby O’Dwyer and his management team will be doing their utmost to bring that positivity down to the U20 team. 

It won’t be easy, as mentioned above Limerick or Waterford will be the opposition in the Munster semi-final, and that won’t be straightforward as last year showed.