JUST a few short weeks after they beat Dunloy of Antrim to collect the All-Ireland club title on St Patrick’s Day, Newtownshandrum suffered a severe shock to the system when they fell to CIT in the opening round of the permanent tsb county senior hurling championship. And they could have no complaints about their fate as they looked a pale shadow of the side that had made such an impressive march to county, provincial and national glory over the previous 12 months.

Since then, Newtown have accounted for Delanys to get their hopes of a second consecutive county title back on track.

But again they weren’t particularly impressive in that game, and the general consensus afterwards was that they were a very tired team, and that the huge effort put in to bring the top prize in club hurling to Leeside for the first time since 1987 had taken a severe toll on the players both mentally and physically.

Only once in the past has a Cork team (Blackrock in 1979) completed the two-in-a-row in the county championship while in possession of the All-Ireland title.

And developments in the opening two rounds will have made Newtown fully aware that they are there to be shot at now, and that the opportunity to lower their colours will be relished by every team that they encounter this year.

On the face of it, Newtown have had ample time to recharge the batteries since they dispatched Delanys, but there is no guarantee that they have recaptured the hunger and determination that made them such an irresistible force last season.

And it can be safely said that they will need to be functioning at the peak of their powers if they are to achieve the desired result when they square up to Erins Own at Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Friday evening. But Newtown have been notoriously slow starters in the championship in recent years, and, aside from their arduous programme last season, the absence of Pat Mulcahy through injury meant that there was another mitigating reason for their failure to produce anything close to their best form against CIT and Delanys.

Mulcahy, so influential at centre back as Newtown surmounted all the obstacles last season, is set to return for the clash with Erins Own.

That is obviously a significant boost for the champions, although it’s expecting a lot of Mulcahy to perform with his customary assurance and authority at the heart of the Newtown rearguard in what will be his first major competitive outing in over four months.

Erins Own turned in a moderate display when beating UCC in the first round, a game that marked Brian Corcoran’s return to championship action after an absence of three years.

Not surprisingly, Corcoran looked decidedly ring-rusty in that game, and, apart from shooting some vital points from frees, his contribution to Erins Own’s success was minimal.

But Corcoran has sharpened up his act considerably in the meantime, as was underlined last Sunday at Croke Park where he notched 2-1 in the first half that did much to smooth Cork’s path to a comprehensive win over Antrim in the All-Ireland quarter-final.

The likelihood is that Corcoran will line out on the ‘40’ on Friday evening when his collision with Pat Mulcahy could well have a vital bearing on the outcome.

Make no mistake about it, Erins Own are entitled to be rated as genuine pretenders to the throne, and they won’t be lacking incentive against Newtown, having succumbed to the North Cork men in the 2000 county final, and in a quarter final game in 2002.

Last year, Erins Own were a bit unlucky to be pipped by Sarsfields in a third round replay, and Corcoran’s decision to come out of retirement, and the recruitment of former Waterford senior player Sean Daly is bound to enhance of their prospects of making an even bigger impact in the current campaign.

The bulk of the team comprises players who have helped the club to county success at both minor and under-21 level in recent years, including current Cork senior panelist Cian O’Connor.

O’Connor, who will probably be entrusted with the task of policing Newtown’s ace attacker Ben O’Connor, Shane Murphy, Fergus Murphy and Kieran Murphy are all members of the Cork under-21 team, and, with other highly accomplished performers such as Mark O’Connor and Peter Kelly in their ranks, it’s easy to appreciate why Erins Own are worthy of the utmost respect.

It’s going to be a very difficult assignment for Newtown, but they will draw no little comfort from the fact that the gifted O’Connor twins have both been in top form with Cork of late.

Should Ben and Jerry turn on the style in attack and at midfield respectively, it might just be enough to tilt the issue in Newtown’s favour.

But it will take a solid team effort to carry Newtown through, and, as I’ve said, much will depend on how Pat Mulcahy fares out against Brian Corcoran, while Brendan Mulcahy’s individual duel with Erins Own full forward Sean Daly is likely to be another crucial confrontation.

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