Premier SHC: UCC dealing with scheduling challenges

The change to a streamlined county championship schedule has proven to be a challenge for UCC.

In 2020, the first year of the new format, UCC qualified from the divisions and colleges section and reached the semi-finals of the Premier SHC, losing out to Blackrock after extra time.

However, they have failed to win a game since then, with early-August fixtures not always conducive to assembling a squad. The college side take on Imokilly in Midleton tonight in a divisions/colleges semi-final tie and will go in as underdogs.

Manager Tom Kenny is part of a group comprising John Grainger, Dr Paddy Crowley, Ger Dinan, Séamus Coffey and Paul O’Connor.

However, opportunities to mould the group into a team have not been plentiful, meaning that the clash in Midleton will be the first chance for the players to properly convene.

“I think, to be fair to the players, there is a willingness in the players to get together,” Kenny says.

“The tricky part is that players come in from different counties and, say, if you pick a certain night, then some players have club matches, some players have club training, some might be still playing in a U20 championship up the country or whatever.

“We could have a training session, there might be ten there but then five of them might be coming from outside of Cork and you’re saying is it fair for them to come down as well when they might be training the night before or the night after with their club at home.

“It is the ultimate experiment in that you're putting players up on the pitch together for the first time as a team and you’re looking for them to show their ability and their motivation to do well.

“They are good players and it's just can they mould into a collective effort for 60 minutes and whether that's good enough.”

UCC are restricted to picking four players per division. While Kenny can understand the need to impose a limit, the early deadline makes things difficult.

“The hindrance in that rule is that you have to have your players put in in the springtime,” he says.

“Obviously, some players at that stage might not have their plans made out for the summer. We could put in someone and then in April or May they decide they want to go travelling – they're students and we're not going to stop them going travelling, but then we're kind of down a player already.

“The other side of the coin then, and I see that argument too, is you can't have an open season, but if a player isn’t picked for his division, for example, yet he's in college, could he not come along and play a division?

“It's just too early in the season in a way to be naming players and then sometimes they head off and your hands are tied then.”

Regardless of the circumstances though, as long as UCC are permitted to enter the competition, there will be a team on the pitch wearing the skull and crossbones.

“It is a midweek game, so it might be maybe slightly favourable in a sense,” Kenny says, “whereas if it was a Sunday evening, obviously there’s a chance that players will be caught.

“It's difficult to get together, between fellas being away and playing club and injuries and whatnot, but we've had a good response in fairness.

“To be fair to John Granger and Paddy Crowley, both have been around the block many moons and Paddy has been involved way back when they won the county. They're always willing to have UCC represented in the championship.

“You could argue people outside of the college set-up might say should they bring nothing to the championship. but I think it's still an avenue for some players, who aren't on a divisional team or who are in UCC for two or three years to just represent the college in the county championship.

“You're looking just at everyone to put in a huge effort Wednesday to see if they can take it over the line, albeit against a very, very good divisional team but as long as we're there and UCC are there and players are willing to participate, then we'll put a team into the county championship.”