(JJ Hurley)
Carrigaline and Kinsale are set to meet in what promises to be an intriguing clash in the SE U21 A Football Final at Minane Bridge on Sunday at 2.30pm.
Having met in the round-robin leading up to the final decider, Carrigaline claimed the victory on a scoreline of 2-11 to 0-14, emphasising goals could also be the deciding factor on Sunday.
With both sides starved of success in the competition, Kinsale have the longest absence from the winner’s podium, having not won the competition since 2010.
‘It is a fact that Kinsale haven't won the SE U21 since 2010. Of course, we are turning up Sunday with belief that we can compete with Carrigaline,’ remarked Cionn tSáile’s Bainisteoir, Kevin Cahil.
‘All we want to do is to give ourselves a chance going down the stretch of the final 10 minutes.’
Kinsale certainly have the talent in their ranks to trouble the Carrig outfit as James Murphy, Gearoid Kearney and David Looney are all capable of causing an upset.
However, for the club from the Bandon Road , who have slipped from their dizzy successful heights of county success in 2011, Sunday’s game will be another step on the road to rejuvenation.
It’s a point not lost on Cahil, who has been at the head of much of the club’s recent underage success.
‘Winning isn't always the end goal, sometimes it is just about progressing one more step along the road, building the foundations for the next steps,’ Kevin remarked.
It’s certainly going to be a difficult assignment for Kinsale to see off Carrig, who have some awesome talent in their ranks, including the twin towers of Ryan Delaney and Brian Delaney.
The former is already a folk hero out on the Crosshaven road, following Ryan’s exploits in last year’s run to success in the County Senior A Football Championship.
Having that sort of experience in the ranks of any squad is irreplaceable, a point that team manager, Killian O’ Mahony agrees with.
‘We have eight or nine fellows that played at senior and junior last year, and it’s great to have them involved and it does bring a bit of experience,’ he said.
‘I noticed a number of them will stand up in the dressing room, and they are full of voice, and it does bring on the younger lads.’
With Carrigaline deservedly wearing the favourites tag leading into the tie, they will not be taking anything for granted.
‘It is hard to say who are favourites, coming into the game, we like to think we have a good chance of winning, the competition between ourselves, Kinsale and Valley Rovers shows how tight this competition is, ‘Killian remarked
It is certainly a game that has the potential to be a tight contest, aided by the new rules that saw Ballymartle and Ballinhassig serve up a cracker in the B U21 Final last weekend, as the Riverstick lads ran out winners on a score line of 2-19 to 3-11.
Compliments to Tracton GAA club and their sand-based pitch for ensuring the games had a suitable venue for both finals.
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