Keith Ricken: We found a second wind — and we never stopped

Cork manager Keith Ricken stood on the sideline in Newbridge on Sunday afternoon watching a group of teenagers refuse to bend to circumstance.

Nine points down in the second half of an All-Ireland final, the Rebels produced one of the great minor comebacks to dethrone Tyrone, winning 2-16 to 1-16 at Cedral St Conleth’s Park.

It was a superb occasion for Cork football as the county claimed All-Ireland glory at minor level for the first time since 2019.

Afterwards, Ricken spoke with a mixture of pride, relief and reflection.

“You’re always believing in them no matter what,” he said post-match. 

“At half-time we said: if we can settle into the game, get a few scores, and if we can get close coming down the home straight, I think we’ll win it. They have that tenacity in them.

“If that game went on longer, we could have won by even more. We just find that second wind.

“You’re thinking about our own going through the emotions, and you’re thinking about the Tyrone lads going home. Credit to Tyrone — they were excellent. Superb ambassadors.

“All the young lads in the stand today were part of this process — the trials, the extended panels. They’d love to be here, but all their hard work pushed up the standards and created what we saw. From that point of view, I’m very happy.” 

The manager spoke repeatedly about “moments” — the small turning points that shift belief. A couple of those came from defender Éanna Lynch, who made an incredible diving block on a couple of occasions at crucial stages.

“Éanna got a couple of superb blocks. When I saw that second block, seven points down I think, I said to the boys: lads, I think we’re in. That was the catalyst. His blocking gives people hope and energy.

“Rory Twohig inside in goal was superb — his kick-outs, his saves. He didn’t buckle, and when a kick went wrong, he went back in. We’d chatted about that: kicks can go wrong, but your basics must be right.

“Conor Downing dug deep, as any Beara man would. He dug into a recess I don’t think anyone else has, to drag something out. He finished superbly.

“Everyone did very well. Our subs made a great difference. Great belief in themselves. The whole team were united. All our backroom, our team, because everyone is the same.” 

Ricken was keen to acknowledge his coaching group, especially Maurice Moore, who was also with him in 2019 when they guided Cork to the U20 All-Ireland football title.

“I’m really happy for the mentors. I’ve been around different teams over the years. This is the players' first time experiencing something like this. They think this is going to happen every year now — they’ll have to wait another… I don’t know how long. But I’m delighted for everyone involved.

“Maurice Moore is one of the best coaches that there is. We have Billy O’Connor too, and so many more in the background that do trojan work.” 

Ricken admitted the match had been on his mind all week.

“I actually played this game twice,” he said. 

“I had a dream we were going to win by three points coming down the home straight. I woke up in a bag of sweat. I’m not going to play it anymore, I’m not going to watch it again.

“Tyrone were All-Ireland champions and you can see why — their production line, their U20s. We’re trying to model ourselves on them. They gave us a lesson last year. You can see what they’re doing right, and we’re trying to emulate that. I’m just glad it came off today.” 

The crowd added to the occasion, and Ricken felt the weight of expectation.

“You can’t close out that outside noise. You have to embrace it and trust that they’ll embrace it. The last 20 minutes — it was like they were down the field training. Moving the ball properly, passes coming off, running off the shoulder, tackling, blocking. That’s who they are.

“Do I get the glory that I won an All-Ireland? I’d swap this day for one more day of junior football that I could play myself. But if there was a second best, this is probably it.”