'Stick your chest out and be proud of the badge' — Carrigaline stand tall to dethrone Ballincollig

Carrigaline manager Seán Collins said Monday night’s Cork ETB Rebel Óg Premier 1 MFC triumph was “a historic night” for a club long viewed as one of the county’s major population centres — and one often told that success should simply follow scale.

Their late surge at Páirc Uí Rinn denied Ballincollig a third straight minor title. Carrigaline won 2-15 to 1-13.

“It is massive,” he said of the significance of the win. 

“I spoke to you last weekend in the club — full of nerves, but excitement as well. The message tonight to the lads was to embrace the challenge ahead of them.

“We beat Nemo in the play-off, we beat a very good Douglas team, and we’ve beaten Ballincollig twice in the championship. So, I think we’ve earned the title this year. We didn’t do it the easy way.” 

Coming from behind again was not part of the plan, but Collins said belief has been a constant thread in this group’s development.

“We knew that belief was in there and we knew the lads would keep digging in until the final whistle. Thankfully, we got the scores when we needed them most. 

"It’s just pride, really, for the group of lads we’ve been involved with all through the years. There’s brilliant ability in the group, as well as character — and you need both.” 

The population-centre question — and the expectation that comes with it — was something Collins addressed directly.

“We all know the potential and the population the club has,” he says. 

“There’s a big population, there’s a lot of competing sports in the town. A lot of these lads have done their Leaving Cert, a lot have just started college. At that age, 17, 18, there’s a lot going on in their lives, but the focus and dedication they’ve shown, and the pride in the badge… that’s what matters.” 

He told the players at half-time to “stick their chest out and be proud of the badge they’re wearing,” reminding them that Carrigaline had only one previous minor title, more than a decade ago.

Collins believes this group is well placed to push into adult football.

“A lot of these 2008 lads have experience of playing with the U21s and with the juniors this season. They’ve tasted success there as well. 

"We have Jack McCarthy involved with us who’s in with the Carrig seniors — having that link is very important. There’s a huge group of lads with massive ability, and this is what will hopefully drive them on.” 

He noted the significance of beating a club chasing three in a row.

“To come here tonight against a club looking for their third title in a row, we knew we’d be making history to win it,” he states. 

“This team coming up through the years has won a lot — U12s, U13s, U15s — and lost a semi-final at U16 by a point. We’ve always had that belief. Whether we’d get the actual scores to get our noses in front is the difficult part, but we got fantastic scores under pressure.

“43 players played minor this year, more than 20 of them are 2008-born. They’ll all be playing U21 and junior next season. They all want to play football for Carrigaline at adult level. This is exactly the experience they need.

“This is what’s going to drive on these lads into adult level, but also next season’s minors. They know what we’re capable of achieving on nights like these. Hopefully it’s a sign of things to come for Carrigaline.”