‘We won’t take them lightly’

Magpies ready for Glens

WHETHER it was Gibraltar United or Glencormac United, Newtown United do not care who they face on Sunday as long as it is their hands held aloft in victory by the final whistle.

Having been demoted to bridesmaid by Ashford Rovers twice in succession, there would have been a poetic justice in getting revenge this year but Gary Kelly (GK) and Trevor O’Brien (TOB) are only considering the men in their changing room and not the opposition – although they do have the utmost respect for Glencormac and aren’t fooled by their second tier status.

Despite operating in different divisions, the sides have met this season. Glencormac lead twice before losing 3-5 to Newtown in the Charlie O’Leary Cup and it left an impression on the Magpies.

GK: “We know a lot about them. They should a Premier team. They’re better than a lot of the teams we played in the Premier. We played them in the Charlie O’Leary early on and I’ve said it a couple of times; they are the best team we’ve played this year football-wise. They’re good, young, fit, they’ve loads of pace, they’ve bags of confidence and they’re looking like winning Division 1.”

TOB: “They are a good team and they’re an exciting team. As Gary said, in terms of Premier, they will be there and they should be there. They’re a cracking outfit and we will not be taking them lightly.”

With the heartbreak of two defeats in the final, motivation is not in short supply. It has been dominating their minds all season and on Sunday they will finally get the chance to avenge two dark days for the club with a squad that is in better shape than before.

Newtown could be on the cusp of a quadruple but the Wicklow Cup is the only thing being talked about from the Townhouse to the Parkview.

GK: “This year it was all about the Wicklow Cup for us after losing the last two and I don’t care who is on the other side. Before that, I’d always have the romantic desire to play Rathnew or Ashford but (I don’t care this year). Glencormac knocked Ashford out and they’re there to be beaten. If they can beat us, nobody can say they didn’t deserve it.

“They (Newtown lads) won’t be nervous, they’ll have a drive. I personally feel that they’ll have a drive this year that ‘this won’t happen again’. I can’t see the squad we have being nervous. We’re missing two or three massive players through injury but other lads have come in and stood up and I just can’t see nerves coming into it. I can see Glencormac suffering with nerves but our team won’t. If we don’t win, it won’t be down to nerves.”

TOB: “It’s very hard to rank teams but our squad numbers and commitment this year is phenomenal. There were lads on Sunday that didn’t get on but they’re still out celebrating. We haven’t always had that luxury of a big squad.

“If you walk through the town and ask them, only a handful of people will know we even won the Charlie O’Leary because it’s all just Wicklow Cup. Our lads know what it means and how hard it is to win one so now that we’re here again, we’re going to give it our all.”

When Shelbourne hosted Newtown in the Leinster Senior Cup, it is very possible that they had written off their Co. Wicklow opponents. Newtown will not make the same mistake against the Kilmacanogue outfit.

GK: “Because of the last two years, we will not be underestimating anyone. We genuinely thought our biggest threat this year would be to try and get the lads up for Sunday last because everybody is Wicklow Cup (focused).

“They (Glencormac) have their silverware and they’ve won something - if we were to go out and beat them 10-0 it wouldn’t matter. If they lost 1-0 they’d be able to hold their hands up. God forbid if they beat us, we’ll never hear the end of it again.

“It’s two proper football teams trying to play proper football. We’re looking forward to it and we think it’ll be a very good game of football.”

On Sunday, Newtown can’t control the weather. They can’t control the bounce of the ball. They can’t control what the referee will or won’t do. But they can control their preparation and they will not fall short in that category.

TOB: “I think if anybody outside of our camp thinks it’s going to be easy for us, they need to re-evaluate. We know exactly what faces us but if anyone else outside of us thinks Glencormac are a pushover and it’s in the bag for us, it’s ridiculous and stupid. They haven’t done their homework because Glencormac are a cracking side and if they were in the Premier, they’d be pushing for the top three.”

GK: “We know what Glencormac are made of but very few other teams would have done any research. They think it’s a one-horse race and that Newtown have it won. People are coming up to us and telling us not to take it lightly - they clearly don’t know us! We were never going to take them lightly. We’ve done our homework and we know what’s facing us. We will not be taking them lightly. They’ve a free shot at winning the Wicklow Cup.” 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