Cork minor footballers ready to defy the odds against Tyrone

Cork minor football manager Keith Ricken is a confident figure heading into tomorrow’s Electric Ireland All-Ireland MFC quarter-final against Tyrone.

Laois Hire O'Moore Park in Portlaoise is the venue with throw-in at 1.45pm. The Rebels are rank outsiders coming into this one against the Ulster winners.

Cork were beaten by Kerry in their provincial decider by nine points two weeks ago, but despite the scoreline, they actually played quite well, but just didn't have the same quality as their opposition.

Ricken isn’t paying much attention to whose favourites or underdogs coming into this encounter.

“Well look, I think it was Bob Paisley who said one time that if you listen to the fans you’ll become one,” the St Vincent’s clubman says.

“You have to kind of believe in your own team and I would and we’ve played Tyrone already this year. I went up and saw them in the Ulster final against Cavan. They’re a good side, I mean, they’ve won the Ulster league and they’ve won the Ulster championship.

“But I’d be very confident going into this game. I’m not saying that now because this is the thing to say to the press or this is what I want to say to the players, I genuinely would be confident. The lads are playing well. If we go by the stats, if we can sort out our conversion rate a bit, which the lads are trying to, then I think we’ll have a very good chance of winning at the weekend.

“We played Tyrone earlier in the year, we played them above in Dublin, it was a very good game. We might have won by a few points, if my memory recalls. We’re looking forward to the game, it’s a big challenge, of course, Tyrone are good, but Cork have a good record against northern teams.” 

Despite the 0-18 to 0-9 loss to Kerry in the Munster decider in Austin Stack Park a fortnight ago, it hasn’t been hard to pick up the Cork players after that one according to the manager. Not for the first time this year, he’s not putting any pressure on them.

“When we came back to training a few days after the Kerry game, you would have thought we won the Munster,” Ricken said.

“The players were really buzzing. They’re a great bunch, you know, great admiration for the players and their parents and their clubs, really enthusiastic bunch. There’s a great energy about the place, couldn’t ask for a better bunch that way.

“These young fellas have all been playing football since a young age. They’ve dreamed about days like playing in an All-Ireland quarter-final.

“The attitude is great and training has been very good, the lads have put in a big shift. It all comes down to what happens on the day. I know it’s an old adage, like, but it is the fact that all matches come down to the day of the game. We have prepared very well.

“Regardless of the result, I think the weight of Cork football is on the shoulders of the seniors and U20s. We shouldn’t be putting our hopes on adolescents to go up to Portlaoise and put the weight of the world on top of them. These are adolescents, they’re playing for the enjoyment of it, the fun of it. The minors do what minors do, go out and enjoy life and enjoy the football and see what it brings.”