Douglas Junior B footballers find ideal blend of youth and experience

The scenes at the final whistle when Douglas retained their Junior B title at Páirc Uí Rinn showed their relief and satisfaction.

For their young manager Luke O’Connell, this was all about getting the job done with a superb group of lads.

“We have a great age gap in this team as some of the guys were involved in the 2008 final and some lads were only starting school the same year so you could say it’s a strange combination,” O’Connell said.

In recent years Douglas have been struggling at senior level but Luke believes it will come together.

“There is a massive amount of work going in and when you look at our centre-back today, David McSweeney, he was a senior selector this year but still found the dedication to play with us at this level,” added O’Connell.

Pointing out the contribution of veterans McSweeney and Ray Keating, O’Connell believes they are great people with special dedication.

“In the case of Dave, he is a 47-year-old, still a fit man, and you saw the point he scored at the start of the second half — maybe he was wasted as a defender for all of his career.

“Ray Keating is our captain and a wonderful kicker of the ball and you cannot buy that type of experience.”

The kicking and movement skills of Kevin Murphy also stood out in this final and he paid tribute to his ace forward.

“Kevin was in Dublin for a number of years and came back to us as he wanted to experience playing with former teammates and he has been a wonderful addition, as you have seen with the couple of points he scored in this final,” he said.

Preparation for this decider was intense, said O’Connell, who described the build-up.

We started back training in January for our league campaign in February and we have trained three times a week since July, with our first game against Passage, and it has been full-on, with Christmas only around the corner.”

This is the second year that Douglas have defeated Goleen and O’Connell had a tinge of sympathy for the West Cork club.

“Look, it’s tough losing a final in any grade, as we defeated them as well last season, and our team in that decider had to move up a grade,” said O’Connell, who was quick to point out that commitment is needed to win a county final at any level. “Our team have put in some serious shifts and you can see on the pitch right now what it means to each and every one of them.

“As a young manager, it’s great to have guys on your team that are willing to give you sound advice and as a group, I am surrounded with great people that have the club at heart.”

He predicted a night to remember at the club. 

“We will enjoy it as I think the lads deserve all the plaudits they get and after 12 months of commitment they are entitled to let their hair down.”