‘We’re going to enjoy it and give it a right lash’
HAVING watched Glencormac United side fall at the final hurdle six times in a row, Glens manager Colm Mulligan breathed a massive sigh of relief as his side captured the Thomas Scott Cup on Saturday. Not only had it brought a 16-year drought to an end, but it meant that there is no burden on them to upset the odds against Newtown United on Sunday.
Fail and they fall back on their divisional cup and refocus on securing the league title. Succeed and they make history – become heroes. It is quite a nice position to be in and Mulligan has no problem wearing the underdogs tag.
“It’s absolutely massive because it was like a monkey on our back. We lost so many league play-offs and cup finals and they were very disappointing but thank God we have that now, we’ve a league to look forward to as well so the pressure is off the lads. We can really go out and enjoy it.
“Without doubt Newtown have to be favourites. They’ve been there the last couple of years and the experience they have in cup finals and the Leinster Cup recently - I am under no illusions about the size of the task that we face. Newtown have all the cards - they’re used to playing regularly in the Carlisle Grounds and a lot of their lads have a lot of experience.”
Newtown have been there, done that and got the medals to prove it all but this could be a baptism of fire for Glencormac who are unlikely to have faced anything like the Carlisle Grounds on Wicklow Cup final day before. It is an intimidating prospect but Mulligan hopes his youthful side will flourish rather than wilt in the heat of battle.
“My team is only a young team. My biggest fear is the lads freezing on the day but I don’t think they will. That is the big worry though.
“I’ve a lot of confidence in how they’ll react but you just never know! It all comes down to the day. I’d prefer if this interview was 15 minutes before kick-off because then I could look at them and tell you if they were nervous!”
With the sides not facing each other in the league, Glencormac’s only experience of Newtown was a 3-5 loss in the Charlie O’Leary Cup – a match that the Glens twice lead in. The longer-serving members on the Glencormac panel will have painful memories of a battle with Newtown United B years ago but the ‘A’ team are a different class and Mulligan knows it.
“Mick Rooney, Ian Devlin and Simon Doyle would have experienced losing to Newtown in a cup final and league play-off a few years ago so believe me, I know all about Newtown! I was down on Sunday watching them in the Charlie O’Leary and they were very, very impressive. They totally dominated St. Peter’s and it is a massive task ahead of us.
“The reason we lost that game was that Newtown never panicked. They’re just so experienced. They never panicked at all that night and they were 1-0 down and 2-1 down but they hit us with three goals in 10 minutes and that’s the class of their team and that’s what we’re up against. But I’m glad that happened that night because it might stand to us.”
Something else that has stood to the Kilmacanogue club is knocking out two-in-a-row champions Ashford Rovers. They made the Wicklow League sit up and take notice that day and it was a long, long way since the Glens had to threat extinction to regenerate interest in their senior team a few years ago.
“When we beat Ashford Rovers that day (I started to believe). They’d won it the last two years and we were 2-0 up but we conceded a goal and had a player sent off and conceded a penalty - to have the confidence in ourselves to come back from that and win it at the very end, it was that day that I realised we were onto something.
“It was never really going to fold, we had to put it out there that it was folding because I don’t think the attitude was what it should’ve been. When you take away something, lads realise what they’re missing so that was the low point but a lot of lads kept it going that season. We had older lads togging out just to keep it going at the time and we’ve obviously moved on since there.”
In celebration on Sunday, Glencormac could well turn to Freddie Mercury to celebrate their status as champions but another of his hits – ‘Under Pressure’ – certainly won’t be applicable to the Division 1A outfit.
“Absolutely none at all. The pressure is completely 100 per cent on Newtown.
“They’ve been there and lost the last two years.
“We’ll be going there to enjoy it, it’s our first Wicklow Cup final ever and we’ll enjoy it but we’re going to give it a right lash.
“It’s been an amazing season with a possible league to come and as I’ve said; if we lose it, we lose it. The lads will learn from it but we’ll give it a good go.”