Not to fear losing, just go out and win it' – Bride Rovers embracing Premier Senior challenge

Newly promoted Bride Rovers were always going to be a thorn in the side of any Premier Senior outfit they faced this year, and with the attacking punch of Brian Roche and Adam Walsh up front, it’s not hard to see why.

The pair were excellent in their victory over Newcestown at Ballincollig on Saturday, but it was the strength at the other end of the field that truly made the difference.

With former Cork U20s Cillian Tobin and Denis Cashman pairing with Cork senior Eoin Roche, they reigned supreme over Newcestown and were outstanding from start to finish.

“Very good defensively,” Rovers coach Steve Glasgow said after the victory. “We keep telling the lads there that shoot on sight, if you miss, we go again. That's about it.

“We're coming off the back of a Senior A county win, Division 3 win last year against Newcestown themselves. Division 2 win a couple of weeks back, so we had that bit of a bounce coming into it,” he explained. “We played Adare a couple of weeks ago, had a very good outing there.

We clipped 3-28 in that game, which was massive scoring and again it was 2-26 we scored from play.

That's what we're working on a lot in training, working the ball into the positions to get those scores and ultimately we came good again tonight.

“And also, the referees are starting to let games flow a lot more in Cork, which is great in one sense. So the free count on either side is very limited, and again, you just have to take your scores.” 

Ballyhea’s Ciarán O’Regan was the man in the middle and busy in the second half. He would end up flashing several yellow cards in an effort to diffuse the tension, and Newcestown’s Ciarán O’Donovan was the unlucky man to receive two yellows, and the subsequent red.

But, by the time he was dismissed in the 48th minute, Bride Rovers were already coasting to victory. It was a most favourable first impression in the top flight, and one which years of trying to escape the claws of Senior A had them well-equipped for.

“Senior A, looking at the game earlier on today, Blarney and Castlelyons, it was a nip and tuck. A goal in injury time to win it with [Mark] Coleman,” Glasgow added. “You just don't know, each grade is very packed and you can see Premier Senior is a new experience to our lads. We're a young team so we're getting there at the right time maybe.

“We’ve the Barrs next, no easy picking there. That's another three weeks that we have to prepare for that game. I told the lads, go out and enjoy it.

We've worked so hard the last five years to get where we are now. Not to fear losing, just go out and win it.

Should they reach the knockout stages they’ll undoubtedly be there on merit – St Finbarr’s and Midleton are some of the best the grade has to offer – but a strong foundation was set last weekend, and not just from their most well-known players.

Cormac Barry, who was called into action just before throw in after an injury to Cormac O’Sullivan, would go on to put in an impressive shift, while Conleith Ryan’s work rate was relentless.

“Again, we had a good spread of scorers, but the likes of Conleith Ryan – he does a lot of the dirty work that goes unseen. He's up and down that pitch from half-forward.

“Cormac Barry – Cormac O’Sullivan picked up an injury in the warm-up – so Cormac Barry was drafted in last minute and it's his debut as well, in fairness to him. He took to it like a duck to water.”