‘It doesn’t matter who were playing against, we’re as good as anyone in the competition.” NCW veteran Mike McMahon hails the squad’s belief ahead of Munster final

McMahon was awarded man-of-the-match in their Limerick Senior Football final against Adare in early November.

Newcastle West are sixty minutes away from a Munster Senior Football Club Championship title as they prepare to face Kerins O’Rahilly’s in the final this Saturday.

It’s a second appearance in the decider for the west Limerick club and it was earned following a gruelling semi-final victory over Clonmel Commercials. It took a valiant extra-time display to edge the 2016 champions as Newcastle West sailed into the final with a five point win following Emmet Rigters ET goal.

It wasn’t the first time they’ve left it late this season, as they sealed their second consecutive Limerick Senior title with an extra-time win over Adare. Mike McMahon was the star of the show that day, kicking 1-3 of Newcastle West’s 1-11 that day to claim back-to-back titles for the first time in their history.

And McMahon was full of praise for his team-mates’ belief in those two games wiht the veteran attacker confident they can bring the same intensity regardless of the opponents they’re facing.

“I kind of referenced it before, there’s a great belief within the squad that if we’re in touching distance of a team with five or ten minutes to go that we have the players, we have the ability, we have the game plan to get over the line.

“If we were going out playing, it doesn’t matter who we’re playing against, we’re as good as anyone in the competition. We play with, I suppose a kind of a touch of no fear about it and we’d be far better served than, I suppose we were going out not trying to win the game rather than just going out and competing so we just kind of made an agreement with ourselves that we’d go at it this year wherever we wound up, we wound up.”

Saturday’s final will be the first appearance Newcastle West make in a Munster Senior Football Club Championship final in 35 years with the Magpies falling to defeat against Nemo Rangers.

And a touch of history follows McMahon in terms of the 1987 decider, whose father was included in the Newcastle West squad that day but McMahon will be hopeful the same result doesn’t apply this year.

“My father was on the squad the last time they got there, I think he was unused sub on the day so there’s a bit of a link there alright. I think Iain was blaguarding me there that I attended the last final but I wasn’t there at all, I’d say I was at home drinking a bottle at that stage I’m not that old! But yeah there’s a bit of a link there alright, there’s couple more lads there as well I suppose, Billy Lee would have been on it, so there’s links there alright.”

Newcastle West face Kerins O’Rahillys this Saturday at 7.30pm in Pairc Ui Rinn in the Senior Munster Club Football Championship Final.

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