*Bridge Utd’s Conor Deasy. Photograph: Natasha Barton
TRANSITION AWAITS Bridge Utd in the Maloney Garden Machinery Premier Division but they remain determined to move into the top three.
For the past two seasons, the Sixmilebridge club have finished in fourth position and though there will be no bronze medal, the upward progress of a third place finish is the least they are targeting this season.
Matters are made more difficult by the loss of promising Adam Fitzpatrick to Regional Utd and Leon Daly to Aisling Annacotty while the lively Jordan Downes is set to go travelling. Coupled with this regulars Brandon O’Halloran and Alex Collins are among those unable to commit to the cause.
Some solace is provided in the return of teenager Lee Mulready from Treaty Utd to join his older brother Alan in the line-up while their first cousin John is back for a second season with his native club after parting ways with Janesboro.
With Sixmilebridge’s hurlers not involved in the business end of the Clare SHC for the first time in over a decade, it also makes their dual-players available much earlier in the season than normal. Brian Corry is one such player and is joint captain, alongside Christy Griffin.
Mark Culbert is among those to have led the club to glory at schoolboys level, their success in this sector needs to be matched by their premier outfit. “We are going young, we’re in transition, we’re trying to get through, the work and the numbers and success of the underage sides in the club is incredible, schoolboys and schoolgirls is thriving, it is about trying to get them through”.
After a brief stint as CDSL Fixtures Secretary, Eoghan McNulty is back in a coaching capacity with Bridge Utd’s first team after Trevor Noonan’s departure due to work and family commitments.
“We have come fourth in the last two seasons and have been doing well but we’re a lot younger now and we want to make sure the step-up is as good as possible. We are trying to hold onto the lads and stop them going to Treaty or Limerick teams. This season the target is to finish up high in the table, we don’t want to finish fourth again, we want to go further in cups, we got to the last 32 in the Munster Junior Cup but were knocked out early in the FAI and Clare Cup, we haven’t had much luck in the Cups,” he added.
They ranked superior against teams below them in the Premier Division but coughed up points in the big games, Culbert admitted. “We have a good core, John Mulready in goals is massive, Lee Mulready is a fabulous player and we want to get the mix right. We had such a good start last year that people were thinking Bridge could go on and win the league, we knew we were never going to win a league to jump from fourth to win a league off Avenue or Newmarket is not realistic but overtime we might.
“It was a frustrating season when we look back on it, we beat everyone below us in the table but towards the end of the season we stopped training for a spell. Our last game was against Newmarket Celtic, they won the FAI and that delayed the season, we stopped training for six weeks because we had nothing left because they were always going to beat us. For two thirds of the season we did okay, there was disappointing performances especially losing to Shannon Town and Lifford, they were the big points to drop to stop us from putting in realistic challenges, we wanted to kick on once we had good start. We lost big games and they were the ones that counted”.
Culbert continued, “It is just a matter of learning from those games and the game losing to Newmarket in November 1-0, it was a mistake and I know lots of things can come down to a mistake, we had miskicked free and then lost the ball, Darragh Leahy got through and scored, that was the difference, we gave a penalty versus Avenue and lost 1-0 to them in the Cup”.
Bridge Utd:
Management: Mark Culbert (manager), Eoghan McNulty (coach), Sean Fitzgerald, Albert Finnin
Joint Captains: Brian Corry & Christy Griffin
Key Player: John Mulready
One to Watch: Lee Mulready
Fresh Blood: Lee Mulready (back from Treaty), Christy Griffin
Departures Gate: Adam Fitzpatrick (signed for Regional Utd), Leon Daly (signed for Aisling Annacotty), Ryan Perez (gone to Treaty Utd U19), Paul Tuohy (gone to Kilkishen Celtic), Steven Stewart (gone to Bridge Utd B), Jason Whyte (gone to Bridge Utd B), Jonathan Downes (injury), Jordan Downes (travelling). Brandon O’Halloran (work commitments), Alex Collins (work commitments).
Last season’s run: Finished fourth in Premier Division, eliminated in last 32 of Munster Junior Cup.
