The celebrations that erupted from the Mallow camp as referee John Ryan blew the final whistle yesterday afternoon said it all.
The red and yellow clad team defeated St Finbarr’s in their McCarthy Insurance Group Premier SFC Group 3 Round 2 match at Glenagh, a win not expected by many, leaving Mallow as favourites to claim one of the two qualification spots going into their final group match against already eliminated Douglas in four weeks’ time.
It’s a big turnaround for Mallow, who last year lost by 18 points to St Finbarr’s in the group stage.
Things were different yesterday with the North Cork team winning 2-12 to 2-10. Manager Andrew Cashman, who has experienced all the emotions in his first Championship campaign in charge of Mallow, was ecstatic with his players at the famous win over the Togher team.
“I have to wait for my heart rate to drop a bit before I can make any meaningful comments,” he laughs.
Mallow manager Andrew Cashman during the win against St Finbarr’s at Glena. Photo: Eddie O’Hare
“We’ve said for the last two weeks that we’re not interested in a moral victory.
Losing one or two points here, playing well but not winning until the end, means nothing to us. We are not in the business of chasing that kind of thing. We have really ambitious players.
“It’s a really dedicated and disciplined bunch of guys. It was about belief. I played for many years for Mallow teams that were losing before they played the Birds.
“We’ve been focusing on mental skills the last few weeks. Like I said, we’ve worked hard on having belief. Today we were down by four at halftime but we had a calm locker room. The guys took a lot of positive vibes from how we did in the first half.”
“We were caught off guard a couple of times but of course a good team like the Birds will do that from time to time. Overall I’m pleased with how the lads performed.”
St Finbarr’s Stephen Sherlock takes the ball from Marrows’ Shane Merritt during the McCarthy Insurance Group Cork Premier SFC at Glenagh. Photo: Eddie O’Hare
Mallow did not come to Glenagh full of confidence, having picked up a point in their group opener against Valley Rovers but in fact it felt more like a defeat as they ended up with a draw despite being six points ahead at various stages, which makes this latest win over St Finbarr’s, one of the favourites to win the county title, all the more impressive.
“It was like a morgue after the Valley Rovers game to be honest,” Marrow said.
“We had a comfortable lead and I’m happy we could win the game to the end today. I think we learned our lesson and this win was well deserved for us. We were four points down at half-time and we’ve taken some blows but it takes a special person and a special group to get out of that situation. With the guys passing, I look around and we have some top class players and I’m very happy for them first and foremost.”
The red and yellow team put in a well-balanced performance, but Cashman was quick to praise one player in particular.
“Sean McDonnell has been brilliant all year, he scored on 1-6 today and even on 1-6 he took two big free kicks under pressure, difficult kicks.
We in our camp are not surprised or embarrassed by that at all, Sean does it regularly.
“He’s shown great attitude all season. He’s taken his athleticism to a new level and is a weapon when he makes runs at the opposition.”
Sean McDonnell played for Mallow last year and the forward was brilliant in the win over St Finbarr’s. Photo: Jim Coughlan
Douglas, who failed to finish in the top two, are Marrow’s next opponents and a positive result will see Cashman’s side through to the knockout stages.
“There’s a 24-hour rule. We’ll enjoy this win and then focus on the next job. I watched the Douglas v Valley Rovers game last night and they were really good at scoring and Douglas beat Valley Rovers. We’ll prepare as best we can in the next four weeks.”