College Corinthians manager Gary Hackett is  confident his side can kick on in quest for MSL honours

Intermediate Cup action dominates the senior grades in the Munster Senior League this weekend, with five rearranged second-round games on the fixtures schedule.

The third round-draw was made since those games were postponed, so all 10 teams in action on Saturday will know what the prize for success is.

Having received a bye in the first round, College Corinthians will make their first appearance in the national competition this season when they welcome Temple United to Corinthians Park (2pm).

Corinthians were beaten at the quarter-final stages by eventual winners Glebe North last season, and they will be hoping to bounce back from their most recent outing, a 1-0 loss away to league champions Midleton last weekend, with victory against their third division visitors.

Midleton pipped Corinthians to the league title in the final game of last season, and while the Castletreasure side has had a mixed start to the current campaign — last week's loss at Knockgriffin Park was their third in the league — team manager Gary Hackett is certainly not reaching for the panic button.

"We have been inconsistent in our start to the season and there is a little bit of a hangover from losing the title the way we did last season,” Hackett admitted.

"It was a disappointing end because we were leading for most the season, and it did feel like the one that got away.”

After going so close last time around, and with the addition of several experienced players to the squad, Corinthians were tipped to challenge again, and despite their slow start in the league, Hackett still believes they will be in the mix come next May.

"I’m still upbeat and confident that we can challenge for the title. It’s still only October and nothing is won or lost in October. 

"Last season we were doing well against teams that are doing well now, and on any given day I would fancy our chances against any team.

“One of the problems is that we are no longer a surprise package, and people will raise their game against us.

“When I took over as manager last year we had finished in the bottom half of the table the previous season. Going from that position to being heartbroken after losing the league on the last day is a massive leap forwards, but with that comes pressure, and we have to learn to deal with that pressure.”

Hackett believes that Corinthians lacked enough experience to get over line last season, especially after losing their captain Craig Donnellan to serious injury midway through the campaign, while Garan Manley also missed a lot of the season.

During the close season Corinthians went about adding more experience to the squad with the arrival of David O’Leary from Avondale United and the return of Darragh O’Sullivan-Connell and Ross McCarthy.

They began the season with a 5-0 win over Ballinhassig in the Keane Cup which set up a trip to last season’s nemesis Midleton in the second round.

A fine performance saw Corinthians win 4-3 and it appeared that normal service had resumed.

“The cup win over Midleton gave us confidence, and there was a great feeling of freshness in the team. We had new signings in the side, but during the game and in the following week David O’Leary and Ross McCarthy got injured and we had others struggling with knocks as well.”

Those injuries left Corinthians short-handed for the opening league game at home to Rockmount.

The Castletreasure side had the edge over their rivals in their meetings last season, but on this occasion they lost 2-1 which was followed by a 3-2 defeat to Avondale United.

“We had brought in some good, experienced players to help get the lads to the next level and all of a sudden they were out of the picture for an important game.”

“We didn’t do enough to win the game against Rockmount, and I felt we gifted them two chances. Against Avondale we were below par, but I thought we had done enough to win, and it was very frustrating.”

Corinthians came good against Cobh Wanderers in their next league outing, winning 3-0 and they were also impressive against Douglas Hall, winning 3-1 having led 3-0.

Next up was a trip to Knockgriffin Park for the second time in less than two months. On this occasion, though, they lost by the narrowest of margins as an Evan Bolster goal helped Midleton to victory.

Despite a third league defeat, Hackett focused on the positives in the performance.

“I think the Midleton game was nearly the perfect away performance; away to the champions and we had to become comfortable with not having the ball as much we are used to, and but for one lapse in concentration we would have got a point.

“It was a small margin between getting something and getting nothing and in each game that we lost, it was just by the one goal.”

Corinthians’ focus will switch to cup competitions over the next two weekends, with a game away to Lakewood in the Donie Forde Trophy also to come.

First up, though, is the visit of Temple United in the Intermediate Cup which may revive more memories of what might have been.

Corinthians went out of the competition at the quarter-finals last season at the hands of the eventual winners Glebe North, having had to play much of the game with 10 men following Eoghan Murphy’s sending off.

“The Intermediate Cup is like a breath of fresh air. It’s a different kind of pressure and all we wanted was a home draw. I think Temple score a lot of goals and that is a threat, but it’s about us pressing reset, getting back to basics, and building on that.

“This cup has its own special buzz, and we noticed that in training during the week. We have people involved with this squad who have special memories of this competition — David O’Leary, Mark O’Sullivan, and Karl Caulfield.

“Last year against Glebe, we were expected to win, everyone had us down as favourites, but losing a man after 30 minutes, it was always an uphill task.

“We were very disappointed to lose, but the fact that they went on to win it, on reflection, we might have been a bit harsh on ourselves.”

Corinthians’ next two games in cup competitions will provide a little bit of respite from the league, but the manager is adamant that they won’t be complacent in those games because ‘we want to win all competitions’ he said.

After the next two games, the focus will return to the league, and Hackett remains confident about Corinthians’ ability to challenge for the title.

“Before Christmas last year people were saying that we would win it by 10 points, now people are saying we are out of it.

“But when we have our injured players fully fit again, we will be a force and there is not another squad in the league that I would rather work with.”

SATURDAY, 2pm unless stated

Intermediate Cup second round: Wilton United v St Mary’s, Pat Bowdren Park; Bandon v Macroom, Town Park; Riverstown v Carrigtwohill United, GACA; College Corinthians v Temple United, Corinthians Park; Blarney United v Mayfield United, O’Shea Park, 2.30pm.