Cork minor football final preview: Ballincollig face Carrigaline as Macroom take on Diarmuid Ó Murchú

The Cork ETB Rebel Óg Premier 1 and Premier 2 minor football championship finals take place at Páirc Uí Rinn next Monday night.

The Premier 2 final sees Macroom take on Diarmuid Ó Murchú at 6.30pm, as Ballincollig face Carrigaline in the Premier 1 decider at 8pm.

Both have the potential to be top-class games, and in the case of the P1 decider, it’s back to round one.

In that Carrigaline were at home to Ballincollig, who are the defending champions, with the former winning well.

The Village are not only the defending champions, but they are going for three in a row, and they bounced back from that loss with wins in their other group games over Nemo Rangers and Bishopstown.

Carrigaline also defeated the Town but lost to Nemo, which forced a three-way playoff.

Ballincollig won the toss and went straight to the semi-final, with Carrigaline getting the better of Nemo at the second time of asking.

Ballincollig captain, Luke O’Mahony, who will be hoping to win his third title, said they are excited to be in the final and looking forward to playing Carrigaline again.

“Yea we are excited to be in the final and looking forward to playing Carrigaline. Obviously the result didn’t go our way the first day. This is an opportunity to come back and put that right. I know what we are capable of, and we are looking forward to Monday night now.”

Leading out Carrigaline will be Ben Delaney, who kicked some superb two-pointers in the semi-final to see his team come from behind to beat Douglas.

Delaney felt their loss to Nemo could be considered as a positive as it gave them an extra game to keep them focused.

“We looked upon the loss as the chance of playing an extra game to help get things right,” said Delaney, “we were in control the second day, and that day we showed what we can do.”

His side had to show massive character to come from seven points down late on to win by one.

We showed massive character that night, and there is a great buzz now around football in the club. 

"We are in the final next Monday, and the senior side are into the semi-final, so it’s great at the moment.

“We are both hopping off each other and getting the wins when needed, and we are fully focused on Monday night now."

Honour

In the Premier 2 decider, Darragh Donovan will have the honour of leading out Macroom, while for Diarmuid Ó Murchú they have joint captains in Shane O’Flynn and Oisin Buckley.

Speaking ahead of the final, Donovan said the final was creating excitement around the club. “The club has had a few tough years, but hopefully we can use this to build on going forward."

Commentating on their semi-final win over the Barrs, he said: "It was a great game and a great win. We played well and had to in order to come through.

“We are looking forward to the final now, they are a great team, and it will be a challenge for us, but we are looking forward to Monday night and hopefully coming out on top.”

Diarmuid Ó Murchu are a combination of Shamrocks and Crosshaven, and this will be their time appearing in a Premier final.

“We have been together now for four years overall, with new players coming in over that time and others going,” said O’Flynn.

“We were in the Division 1 final last year, but this is our first Premier decider so hopefully the experience of last year will stand to us against Macroom.”

They lost their first group game and were under pressure to qualify after that, but bounced back to ensure they made the quarter-finals.

“Losing the first game was tough, and you only have two games left, and the season could be over after training hard for it,” said Buckley.

“We went back training and drew with the Barrs. It was mixed emotions after that game as we knew we had one last chance to qualify. We won that to make the knockout stages.

“We have been taking it one game at a time, and it was always in the back of our heads, we didn’t want this to be the last match we played for Ó Murchus.

“We’re looking forward to the final now, and like all the others, we are firmly focused on Monday night.”

Prestigious

Speaking at the launch of the finals, Rebel Óg chairperson Peter Watson said: "We are delighted to welcome Cork ETB as sponsors and thank them for their support of Rebel Óg. It is an exciting time for us as we look forward to hosting the Premier 1 and Premier 2 minor finals at Páirc Uí Rinn over the next two Mondays.

“Our partnership with Cork ETB reflects a shared commitment to supporting young people and encouraging participation and enjoyment in sport.”

Chief executive of Cork ETB, Denis Leamy, said: "Cork ETB is proud to support Rebel Óg and these prestigious minor football finals. Sport plays an important role in the development of young people, helping to build confidence, teamwork, resilience, and community spirit.”

Tickets are on sale on arrival at Páirc Uí Rinn, and the finals will be streamed live on ClubberTV.