BANDON 2000

MURPHY'S STOUT CORINTHIANS CUP FINAL - SUNDAY AT TURNER'S CROSS - KICK OFF 3.00pm: BANDON v PEARSE CELTIC




Bandon's Barry Hayes will probably be the more anxious of the two player managers who will lead out their respective teams for Sunday's final of the Murphy's Stout Corinthians Cup at Turner's Cross (3.00); he has seen his side's form slump in recent games while Pearse's Terry Barrett saw his team come from two down to defeat Grange in their most recent outing.



First Division Bandon crashed 4 - 1 to Kinsale in the league and were then dumped out of the County Cup by third division champions Doneraile. Perhaps, they were thinking of the Corinthians and the trip to the Cross.



Hayes will be cajoling his troops in an effort to rekindle the form that saw them get the better of highly rated Glencairn Celtic in the semi-final of this cup, run especially for third, second, and first, division teams knocked out in the early stages of their own cups.



Bandon had to be at their best that day and showed good heart and stamina to take the tie in extra time when the lively John O'Connell - he'll be a major threat on Sunday - cracked in the winner off a cross by Deccie Crowley.



Bandon's earlier games had been easier. They defeated Ballinhassig B 4 - 0 in round one and then followed 7 - 0 hammerings of Cobh Town and Churchview Celtic before a 3 - 0 advance over Mallow Celtic put them into the last four. Twenty one for and none against. Not bad form at all!



Barrett's Pearse will nonetheless probably start as favourites but the Togher side will know that there are no easy touches in this sixty team competition. They were supposed to have a soft semi-final against third division Cobh Celtic but it proved anything but.



Conditions were terrible on the day but Cobh, to their credit, made the first division opposition fight all the way. And it was the experienced Barrett himself who led the victory charge. He converted a first half penalty to give them the lead and, after Cobh had equalised, scored the winner with a spectacular overhead kick.



Pearse, who contributed three players - Kenneth O'Keeffe, Dave McArdle, and Pat Hennessy (keeper) - to this season's AUL Oscar Traynor Cup team, after a bye in round one, had earlier defeated Shandon Celtic, Tower Street Athletic, and Ardmanning Celtic.



Barrett, whose assistants are Ger Sweeney and Pat Buckley, picks from: Pat Hennessy, Anthony Morley, John Coleman, Brian Wallace, Ken O'Keeffe, Martin O'Donovan, Terry O'Connor, Kevin Kelleher, Will Gillman, Kieran Morey, Barry Kelleher, Timmy Murphy, Dave McArdle, Dermot Kelleher, John Wallace, Damien Walsh, Tony O'Sullivan, Paddy Cremin, Ted McGregor, Terry Barrett.



The Bandon squad is: Donal Harrington, Jason Kidney, Colin O'Neill, John Waugh, John O'Driscoll, Kevin Walsh, Paul O'Brien, Brian O'Mahony, Eamonn Finn, Martin McCarthy (captain), Declan Crowley, Justin Bolster, John O'Connell, James Nyhan, George Waugh, Darren Crowley, Kieran O'Driscoll, and Barry Hayes. Hayes is the manager and his assistant is Jim McCarthy.



The Corinthians, originally an intermediate trophy, started life in its present format in 1997 when Mahon Utd defeated Castleview in the final. Fairview beat Strand Utd in the following year's decider while Fairview themselves lost to Evergreen last season.