New Avondale manager Rob O'Sullivan looking forward to FAI Cup challenge

THREE Munster Senior League teams will return to action this weekend when they do battle in the FAI Senior Cup.

Avondale United, Rockmount, and Ringmahon Rangers join Cork’s League of Ireland sides Cork City and Cobh Ramblers in the national competition.

The draw was unkind to the Cork sides with all five facing road trips. City will travel to Treaty United while Cobh Ramblers are away to UCD.

Two of the three MSL sides had to come through a preliminary round, with Ringmahon beating Killester-Doneycarney 1-0 to earn a meeting with League of Ireland newcomers Kerry FC  on Friday (7.45pm), while Rockmount beat Home Farm on penalties after a scoreless draw and will travel to FAI Junior Cup semi-finalists Gorey Rangers on Saturday (3pm).

Avondale received a bye in the first round and were drawn away to Wexford Youths, and they will travel to Ferrycarrig Park on Friday (7.45pm) with a new manager in place after Rob O’Sullivan was recently appointed.

O’Sullivan is no stranger to Avondale, or the Munster Senior League, having previously worked with Karl Sheppard and Damian Roddis at the club for the 2019/2020 season. His first spell at Avondale was brief; in February 2020, just before covid struck, he left the Dales to link up with Cork City U17s before a spell with Cobh Ramblers.

More recently, he has been, and continues to be, an opposition analyst for League of Ireland first division leaders Galway United.

A Uefa A licence holder, O’Sullivan has previously coached in the Munster Senior League with Park United, Blarney United, and Fermoy, and he is looking forward to returning to the MSL and to Friday’s cup clash.

His work as an opposition analyst for Galway means he has an insight into Friday’s opponents, and he knows that it is a difficult assignment.

“It’s certainly a big ask for us; they have some good players, but it’s a very good opportunity for our players to test themselves against League of Ireland opposition,” O’Sullivan said.

“We’ve prepared well for the game; we’ve been back training for about four weeks, and we have had a few friendly games, so we are in good shape.

“We played Ringmahon and drew 2-2, and we lost to Limerick side Regional United 2-1. They were good workouts and it was all about getting minutes into players.

“Every player got game time across both matches; most lads got between 110 or 115 minutes between the two games, and we played two 11s against Regional as I had 21 players that day.

“I’m happy with the preparations; we have some lads carrying a few knocks, but hopefully they will have cleared up before Friday.

“The buzz is good around the place, and we are all looking forward to the game.”

O’Sullivan is delighted to be back with Avondale who, in recent years, haven’t been the force they once were. An FAI Intermediate Cup win in 2019 was followed by two covid-affected seasons, and the past couple of seasons have been underwhelming by their standards.

The new manager is hoping to rectify that, and he is looking forward to the challenge.

“Managing Avondale is one of the biggest jobs in the game and it’s always been my priority to manage a big club. I’ve enjoyed coaching at underage level with City, Cobh, and with the Cork Schoolboys League representative sides.

“I will continue with my role with Galway as I can balance the two jobs, and both clubs are happy for me to do so, though there won’t be much of an overlap as the League of Ireland should be completed in October.”

O’Sullivan has been busy since his appointment, assembling his coaching staff, with Craig Robinson and Paul Farrell already on board and he has plans to extend the backroom team.

On the playing front, he has already strengthened the squad since last season.

“We’ve brought in Stephen O’Connor and Eoghan Vaughan from UCC, while Simon Falvey has returned to the club after his spell with the College.

“Jordan O’Sullivan and Sam O’Driscoll have come in from Mayfield United, while Scott and John Forrest joined us from Blarney United.

“We also brought in Kelvin Connolly from Everton, while Liam Cronin, a former UCC and Cobh player, is back from the UK and he has also come in.

“John Kelly, who played with Dunmanway in the West Cork League, has also come in.”

Avondale have lost Matthew Mckevitt to Cobh Ramblers while Darragh O’Brien has gone to Bandon, but O’Sullivan is hoping to add to the squad.

“We have a lot of new faces, and we are working in the background to bring in some more. We still have David O’Leary as captain and experienced players, the likes of Eoghan Lougheed, David Kiely, James Carson, Richard Tobin, David Shovlin, and Sean Barron.

“We also have a few of the club’s young players involved, like Jonah Obode, Ben Roche-O’Brien, and David Hogan.

“Danny O’Connell signed back for the club last season but has been out injured and he is still a bit off making a comeback.”

Looking beyond Friday’s cup game, O’Sullivan hopes to return Avondale to the top table of Munster Senior League football.

“It’s been a long time since Avondale won the league and for a club as big as this, that is the goal; to get back to competing for trophies.

“From a club point of view, I think they will be pleased if we are competing; the target is to maximise our potential and I believe we have the squad to achieve that.”