Rule out Fermoy at your peril against Kilcummin

Fermoy v Kilcummin

THIS Sunday Fermoy will take on Kerry champions Kilcummin in the Munster Intermediate Club Football Final after battling past the best of the rest, first in the county and subsequently in the province, in recent weeks.

Fermoy have been hugely impressive all season, taking the county title ahead of favourites St Michaels before easily disposing of Limerick’s Galbally in the provincial quarter-final and then taking down Moyne-Templetouhy the weekend before last at the Tipperary side’s home venue.

Fermoy are in this final on merit and really won’t fear anything that emerges from the tunnel to face them, but in reality the north Cork side have to improve on their last two displays – particularly their second half showings, as they have only managed to score two points in over 60 minutes of second period football.

In the quarter-final, all the damage was done early, with four game defining goals notched up by a very potent Fermoy attack inside 30 minutes. The second half saw Fermoy ease to the win without ever having to push hard to secure that win however some alarm bells would have been ringing for all involved in the north Cork camp.

Two scores from 30 plus minutes of action was never likely to keep the naysayers happy, but there was always the next day to put that particular stat to rights.

The semi-final followed a similar path for Fermoy, starting well before struggling to keep the scoreboard ticking over. Moyne-Templetouhy provided a stronger test than Galbally had and may well have got even closer to Fermoy if it hadn’t been for some wasteful shooting as the game entered the business end.

Fermoy played with the wind in the opening half and had all the possession however they really did fail to capitalise on a Moyne-Templetouhy side that just couldn’t get out of their half with anything like serious regularity.

The second half against the wind Fermoy looked unwilling and sometimes unable to score and ultimately failed to score but handing the ball over to the opposition who had a strong wind to their backs was hardly likely to be the best tactic either.

All in all Fermoy were happy to keep the ball and close out the game in a manner that was impressive in itself.

Fermoy deserved to win both fixtures and for that matter the county final against St Michael’s as well, but there is little doubt that any of the last three displays won’t be enough to see off Kilcummin this weekend.

Fermoy will need to get back to the form that saw them breeze through the early rounds of the Cork county championship and that will need to happen this Sunday from 1.30 on.

Playing in Mallow will definitely suit Fermoy as they will be very familiar with biggest venue in Avondhu and the return of Cork start defender Tomás Clancy will be another huge plus for the boys in black but this game won’t be decided by one talented footballer.

Fermoy will need to attack with purpose and defend as if their collective lives depend on it and in the latter area the team really have performed admirably of late.

Ruairí O’Hagan may well return from injury, but as of now he is also out. Other issues seem to be on the minor side of things however it would be wrong to say that Fermoy are heading into this one with no injury concerns at all. All that said, few teams can boast a clean bill of health this late in a season so the old adage of it being a squad game will defiantly apply here.

Kerry opposition will obviously bring out the best in Fermoy, as it would with any Cork club – and the prize on offer will likely focus any tired minds heading towards the 11th month of competitive action – Fermoy won’t be favourites and really will have their work cut out for them if they are to see off what is likely to be an impressive Kilcummin side but this side are made of tough stuff, a lot tougher than people have given them credit for.

Fermoy lost out in the Premier Final a couple of years ago and many predicted that would be the end of them, but here we are, two years later, on the brink of being crowned Kings of Munster and just a few months away from starting life as a senior football side. Rule Fermoy out at your peril.

Fermoy