Avondhu can get to
for all members of the panel.
In their opening game against Ilen Rovers, Avondhu made it abundantly clear they had the potential to emerge as a force to be reckoned with, as they thrashed the West-Cork side to the tune of 4-16 to 0-6.
The concession of a late goal proved their undoing next time out against Valley Rovers in a game they controlled for long periods, but they have clocked up four straight wins since then, accounting for O’Donovan Rossa, 1-9 to 0-7, Muskerry, 2-11 to 1-8, Newcestown, 1-21 to 0-14, and Duhallow, 2-15 to 2-9, in turn.
Their victory over O’Donovan Rossa, semi finalists last year, was especially significant in that about 12 of the team had been involved in championship games with their clubs in the preceding two days.
It confirmed that Avondhu were a serious outfit, and that the players were hell-bent on overcoming the handicap stemming from the demands of fixture congestion.
That was further underlined when they dispatched Newcestown with a team containing six Fermoy players who had been in championship action the previous day.
At this stage of course, Avondhu have developed a unity of purpose and team spirit that has to be a major plus going forward, but, against that, the powers-that-be haven’t done them any favours ahead of their semi final showdown with Carbery Rangers.
With Fermoy scheduled to meet Cloyne in a PIHC semi final replay on Friday night, it will be a case of keeping the fingers crossed on the part of the Avondhu mentors that all the players involved, including such key performers as Tomas Clancy, Padraig De Roiste and Ruairi O’Hagan, will come through unscathed.
Whether or which, Avondhu will be at a disadvantage, given that the Fermoy contingent won’t be able to focus fully on the game until the eleventh hour as it were, and that the squad’s preparations have been disrupted to a certain extent.
Carbery Rangers, runners-up to Ballincollig two years ago, will be contesting a sixth semi final since 2010, so their credentials speak for themselves.
They went under by just a point to eventual champions Nemo Rangers last year, and it says a lot for their resilience that they are back knocking on the door again, having endured so much frustration in their bid to make a historic breakthrough over the past few seasons.
With such accomplished footballers as John O’Rourke, John