Premier 1 MFC: Glanmire boss wants his players to grasp chance of making the final

Glanmire minor football boss Niall O’Driscoll wants his players to enjoy and grasp their opportunity this evening.

They take on a fancied Douglas outfit in the Rebel Óg Premier 1 MFC semi-final at the Mardyke with throw-in at 6.30pm.

While Douglas would have been expected to be in the shake up, not many would have predicted Glanmire to be in this position, but they are here on merit. The graph has been going in one direction since the start of the year.

“We played it low-key in the league,” O’Driscoll says.

“We had players missing due to Leaving Cert, injuries, Cork commitments and so on. We played away the league games, kept working on the basics and giving plenty of lads chances.

“We finished mid-table and we certainly got plenty out of the league. It was very beneficial with the aim of peaking at the right time later in the year. The return of players have really boosted us. We knew it was all about getting it right for the championship.” 

Glanmire opened up their championship group campaign with a win over Carrigaline followed by a loss against Bishopstown. A win against Éire Óg resulted in a play-off with Bishopstown, Éire Óg and Glanmire all on four points, but the latter got the bye to the last four.

“We had two very good wins in the group stage and we finished strong in both,” the Glanmire manager said.

“We were disappointed to lose to Bishopstown in the second game, but we learnt so much from it. They are a great group of guys. They are a confident group.

“An important point to make is that we have a good relationship with Sarsfields’ minor hurling management in that we are not overexposing the players. We are trying to keep the players fresh.

“We are lucky that we have a strong panel of lads. They don’t know when they are beaten. That has been shown this year. The last day against Éire Óg, we were behind for most of it, but the players showed how good of a side they are. It was a home game and a big crowd turned up to Sallybrook. We got two late goals and won it.” 

Douglas will be favourites coming into this evening’s encounter, something that O’Driscoll isn’t worried about. His team are used to the underdog tag.

“Douglas beat us well enough in the league earlier this year, but I feel we are a different team now. We know this Douglas team very well. They are an excellent side.

“In saying that, I have great faith in my players. We will do our best to put our best foot forward. We will try our utmost to win the game.

“I want the players to make themselves proud. They are hard-working and a tight bunch and if they stick to those principles, they will be fine.”