Beara footballers looking to win a fifth county U21 A football title this weekend 

Beara football boss Andrew Fitzgerald is under no illusions regarding the size of the challenge facing his side this weekend.

The divisional outfit take on city side Bishopstown in the McCarthy Insurance Group County U21 A football championship final on Sunday in Páirc Uí Rinn at 2.30pm. Despite impressive county quarter-final and semi-final wins over Bantry Blues and Valley Rovers respectively, Beara will be underdogs going into this showdown.

Bishopstown come into this one on the back of 4-7 to 2-6 success over Ballinora in the last four last Sunday while Beara haven’t played competitively in four weeks since that gritty three-point extra-time triumph over Valley Rovers. Tom O’Connor’s goal proved decisive that day.

“It’s a huge occasion for Beara on Sunday and it will definitely lift the club scene down here,” Fitzgerald says.

“All the players aspire to play for Beara and play at the highest level and I think that’s really important. Beara have great history in this competition. The foundation for this current team was laid by Ciarán O’Sullivan from Urhan, who would have trained this team for a couple of years. He would have instilled an awful lot of resilience and would have got them to the level that they are at now.

“I have just been trying to continue the good work that he has done. The season has gone pretty well so far but the only thing that is against us is that we haven’t played in a month. It’s very hard to find momentum going into the final. The players have been playing with their clubs, schools and colleges so they have been ticking away themselves but we haven’t been able to have collective group training. That has been a big break in our momentum.

“We had great wins over Bantry Blues and Valley Rovers and it has been a panel effort. It took the full complement to get over Valley Rovers as they were an exceptionally good side. Every manager says it takes 20 players to win a game and it was evident that day in Enniskeane."

Beara will be looking for a fifth county crown at this grade having won this competition in 1996, 1997, 1999 and 2006. It would mean a lot to that part of Cork, an area where they live and breed football. The big ball is the be-all and end-all.

“If Beara were lucky enough to win the county on Sunday, it would create a huge foundation for Beara to field a team in the Premier Senior championship in Cork. Obviously that hasn’t been the case in recent years. Beara is a unique division in the sense that it’s all football so it’s a bit like my own county Kerry. I was surprised when I went to games first down in Beara how serious they actually take their football and how much they love it. There’s some seriously talented footballers in the division.” 

Fitzgerald was in attendance last Sunday as he watched Bishopstown take care of Ballinora by seven points. He was certainly impressed.

“I have seen Ballinora play before and I know how good of a side they are but Bishopstown put them away comprehensively in the end. Bishopstown are a really strong side and are very developed physically for U21 level. They have excellent forwards and tight backs so it’s going to be a difficult challenge but hopefully it will bring the best out of our lads.”