Newcestown not wanting to rest on laurels

In 2025, Newcestown came so close to reaching a first county premier senior football final.

The West Cork club – one of only three to be top tier in both codes – were unfortunate not to hang on in their semi-final against Nemo Rangers before losing in extra time.

While getting back to such a stage again is far from easy, nobody in Newcestown is basking in the glow of last year, not least manager Jim O’Sullivan.

“Last year is history,” he says.

“We have our goals and it’s up to us. If you’re happy with last year, the door is open and you can go out that.

“When you have the likes of David Buckley, Luke Meade, Jack Meade, Micheál McSweeney inside in that dressing-room, they’re going to drive standards so it’s up to us to make sure that we achieve those.”

After a draw away to Cill na Martra in their opening McCarthy Insurance Group FL Division 1 game, Newcestown picked up their first win on Sunday, 1-19 to 2-8 winners at home to Carbery Rangers.

“I think we laid the foundations really in the first half, against the wind,” he says.

“We knew at half-time that there was a fairly significant breeze to come, so we were happy with that.

“Secondly, I suppose we were we went in control a couple of times in in the second half but we gave away a couple of two-pointers, probably lack of discipline – I must admit that one of them was from the sideline.

“That was a kick in the guts really, but we recovered again and I suppose the last ten minutes, we kicked on.

“They got a good goal in the second half and it brought them back into the game, but we responded well to that, too.

“I suppose 1-19 is good scoring but I think we left we left a lot behind us.”

“We were probably missing four or five, but we’re hoping to build up a panel – I think that caught us a bit last year.

“You’re always going to have fellas injured, especially when you're playing for football one week and hurling the next week at a high level.”

“It’s good, fellas will come on and make mistakes but that’s part of it, it’s how everyone learns.”

Seven points of their total came from Cork panellist David Buckley, who had a fine all-round display, earning praise from O’Sullivan.

“He's always going to put in a big performance, every day you go out,” he says.

“He’s a real leader, inside the dressing-room and on the pitch as well. He carries the ball well, he's strong and he has a great right foot on him.

“Especially when you were against the wind, the way he carries the ball is a major asset to us.”