Future looking bright for St Oliver Plunkett's

ST Oliver Plunkett’s junior B football manager Margaret Keohane paid tribute to the players for their dedication throughout the season which played a huge role in their recent county final success.

The Saints defeated Ballyphehane by one point following an entertaining county final played at Páirc Uí Rinn. Margaret said the players were ‘great’ to work with. 

“It was a great win. It was nothing less than what they deserved after the year the lads have had. They have worked so hard and I am delighted for them. The players have been great to work with. They started training back in November when they started off doing their own individual work. They were so committed and dedicated to bringing success back to the club,” she said.

Ballyphehane fought gallantly in the closing stages in search of an equaliser but to no avail. Margaret was full of praise for the city side. 

“Ballyphehane were a very good team. They were excellent at tackling and they intercepted a good few of our passes. Ballyphehane applied huge pressure in the closing stages and we were hanging on. They were unfortunate with a late free which wasn’t far outside the post. We will take it, but games are decided on very small margins.” 

“There was a huge relief and outpouring of emotion when the final whistle blew,” said the Plunkett’s manager. 

“Our lads deserve great praise for staying calm. We also had a very tight match in the semi-final and just came out on top. The tightness of that game definitely stood to us in the county final. They never panicked, kept working hard, and thankfully came out on the right side.

“The build-up to the final was brilliant. There was so much colour in the parish. The players received so many encouraging messages from past players which meant a lot. People travelled in huge numbers from Ahiohill and the surrounding areas to cheer us on. They made so much noise and I know it really inspired the players,” she added.

The victorious Saints players and their coaching team were afforded a huge welcome back to Ahiohill after their county final triumph said Ms Keohane. 

“There were great celebrations when we arrived home with the county title." 

"A local businessman gave us the loan of a lorry and all the team and coaches were presented to the huge crowd who were waiting to greet us. It was a lovely and very special moment.” 

Due to the involvement of St Oliver Plunkett’s in the Junior B county hurling final against Ballyclough last Saturday, the celebrations had to be ‘curtailed’ said Margaret. 

“There is a huge crossover between the football and hurling panels. The vast majority of players would be playing both codes. You would have 12 or 13 players who would be starting in both football and hurling. The panel is pretty much the same. There are only a few players who are not involved in both codes.

“The celebrations were curtailed due to the county hurling final. A lot of them met up on the Sunday and they attended a physio which was the start of their recovery after the tough game the day before. They enjoyed their night on the Saturday, but on the Sunday they had to switch back into preparatory mode ahead of the hurling final,” she added.

The immediate focus for the St Oliver Plunkett’s footballers now turns to the divisional championship said the team manager. 

“The West Cork junior B football championship is scheduled to start on Friday, July 28. We are due to play Goleen. It is a round-robin format. Our focus will be on winning the West Cork championship to go with the county title.” 

By virtue of their recent county success, the Saints will be competing in next year’s junior A football championship. Margaret is confident they will be competitive in a higher grade. 

“We will now be competing in the junior A football grade next year which is great."

"We were competing in the junior A grade for a number of years, but we weren’t challenging and we went down to the junior B grade. I would be confident we will be competitive in the junior A grade. We had a number of young players who came into the squad this year and that experience will be a help to them next year.

“The underage is very strong which is very encouraging. Plunkett’s are amalgamated with Ballinascarthy at underage level to play with Owen Gaels. You would always be hoping of bringing on a few players to the junior team on an annual basis. You need to keep feeding into the team every year,” she added.

The team manager also complimented the ‘great’ support the club receives from the local community. 

“The club is in a good place. We have excellent facilities and there is a great spirit in the community."

"We have a great committee who do so much work behind the scenes. It was great to see all their hard work rewarded with success in the county football final. Whatever we asked for throughout the year, we got it. 

"Winning the county final means so much to the players, management team, club, officers, and everyone in the community. The community is great to support the club. Anything that is put on in the club to raise funds is so well supported.”