'Maybe the Carrigaline footballers will now get the respect they deserve?'

SHEER joy for the Carrigaline players, coaching staff and supporters as they edged out Éire Óg in a crucial Bon Secours Premier Senior Football Championship clash at Ballygarvan on Sunday.

Carrigaline looked dead and buried for long periods but after producing a magnificent closing six minutes plus added time they secured their status much to relief of selector Peter Murphy.

“We have a lot of young players coming through and after having a number of injuries this season we finally put in a good shift in a game of huge significance to our club.”

He hopes this win will prove many doubters wrong with their opinion of them competing at this level.

For some strange reason, people feel we are not at the races when it comes to competing at this level but I think if they saw what we produced here to win this game maybe they would have a different opinion.”

All season Carrigaline have struggled to find their A game but Murphy believes this win will give them plenty of belief for the coming years.

“I cannot tell you why these lads lack so much confidence at times because we have some very decent footballers at our club and believe me if they stay at it they will only get better.”

Murphy felt that his team’s never-say-die attitude got them over the line in this crucial encounter.

“In the first half I thought the lads were a little tentative but after some words of advice at the break I firmly believed we had every chance of getting back in this game.”

In the words of the Carrigaline chief preparations were vital when the game was up for grabs coming down the stretch.

“I thought our attacking play was excellent and although we didn’t excel in the first half we did show flashes of what we worked at in training. Éire Óg to their credit put a lot of pressure on us in the first half but look that wind was worth more than seven points although we didn’t manage to get to grips with them until late in the game.”

The secret to the win was confidence and belief.

“In the end the lads kept going and were rewarded for their brave display as this was a tremendous performance against all the odds.”

HUGE POTENTIAL

Carrigaline is a town with huge potential and Murphy believes the club will benefit in the coming years.

“Look I played long enough and I know the score but this is a serious group of players and despite getting good trimmings from the Barrs and Nemo Rangers in the last couple of seasons these games will stand to the lads.

“At the moment if we are down a couple of key players we can be exposed as this is a great championship with some fabulous clubs and players and we want to be part of it on an annual basis.”

For Éire Óg, having made the quarter-final last year in their first season at the top level, they must now beat Newcestown to avoid the drop to Senior A. Their hurlers are also in a relegation final in the PIHC against Youghal.