Premier JFC: Kilmurry letting final derby build-up take care of itself

Friday night’s McCarthy Insurance Group Cork Premier JFC final will feature a repeat match-up from the group stages.

Canovee and Kilmurry clash at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh at 8pm but, even if the clubs had not already met in September, there would be no shortage of familiarity.

While the pair would have been seen as being among the front-runners for the title, Kilmurry’s William Ronan wasn’t looking too far ahead.

“We just took it one game at a time, I suppose,” he says.

“I don’t know whether it was something that was written in the stars or what that, the first year the two of us were back in the one grade, we’d meet inside in the final. It’s going back to Mid-Cork days and junior A football.

“In terms of the group, we’ll just be focusing on ourselves and focusing on the football.

“We’ll let the build-up take care of itself among the people in Kilmurry. We’ll just be focusing on our own game and putting a plan in place for putting ourselves forward to try to win the game.”

Wins over Cobh and St James’ meant Kilmurry had already qualified before their last group game against Canovee in Macroom but defeat that night meant they finished in second place.

“It showed everybody the level that you need to be at to be winning against the top teams in the grade,” says Ronan, a trainee teacher of business and accounting at Hamilton High School in Bandon.

“It gave us a bit of a wake-up call as well in terms of the intensity and all that kind of stuff.

“Carrying on from that then, we did learn a lot from it. They’re a very good side and they have some very good players – we all know each other very well in that we’ve either played hurling together or been in school together.

“It’s about putting a plan in place now.”

Certainly, being in a final won’t overawe them. In 2022, they beat Cobh in the junior decider before falling narrowly short against St Finbarr’s in the last year’s premier junior final.

“Over the last two years, we’ve been lucky enough to get to two finals and this will be our this,” he says.

“I suppose that you get the experience of knowing how to win closer games when it comes down to the end of the championship.

“This year, we probably started a small bit slow but we know that if we could get things right and get things motoring, we could get back to where we wanted to be, in a county final.

“In the semi-final against Buttevant, that all came together. Everyone that was on the pitch, subs included and management as well, there was a bit effort there.

“The work that has been put in from the Glenville game to the Buttevant game has been massive, really. We knew what we needed to do because Buttevant are such a strong side and they were putting up big scores.

“We were defensively solid and we have good forwards that were able to put away the scores. We got goals at important times as well in that game the last day.”