Carrigaline GAA win the John Kerins Cup

 By Caeliv Donnelly

Saturday was a red letter day for the Juvenile section of Carrigaline GAA,  as the club captured the John Kerins Cup for the first time in the 20th running of the event. The Carrigdhoun side were worthy winners on the day with some tenacious defending, control at midfield and lethal attacking play the hallmarks of this historic achievement.

This U11 football tournament is run by the gardaí in memory of their colleague and former Cork and St Finbarr’s goalkeeper John Kerins, who passed away at a young age. John kept goal for St Finbarr’s for many years and also won two senior All-Ireland football medals with Cork in 1989 and 1990.Having made it through a tough qualifying section in May, Carrigaline's first match was the Quarter Final was against Eire Óg.

The Muskerry side proved a tough test and took an early lead. However Carrigaline took control of the game and a pair of Yacine Louadahpoints coupled with a Rory Kennedy effort had Carrig 3 points to 2 ahead. Early in the second half the contest really came to life with Kennedy and Louadah netting a goal each. However Eire Óg hit back with a goal and a point themselves and it looked like this game was going to the wire. Bobby Stanton however set up inside forward Kennedy for another Carrigaline goal and while the final score of 3-3 to 1-4 might seem comfortable it took some excellent defending from Jack Healy and a crucial late double save from Carrigaline keeper Sean Allen to keep Eire Óg at bay.

Carrigaline GAA win the John Kerins Cup

Next up was it was St. Nicks in the semi-finals who were impressive in dispatching Bishopstown in the Quarters. Indeed the City outfit started with confidence and raced into a 1-1 to 0-0 lead after just 5 mins. However Carrigaline did not panic and they looked dangerous themselves by twice hitting the woodwork. Once Adam O'Driscoll had struck a point just before half time Carrigaline had managed to trim the deficit to just one point. Early in the second half Carrigaline struck 2 goals to blow the contest wide open.

The first a particularly impressive team move as Jamie Keane set up Ethan O'Sullivan to dispatch a shot high into the roof of the City end net. St. Nicks had the better of it after that but Carrigaline kept them out no thanks to some excellent defensive work by the impressive Liam Greene and captain Ben McCarthy. A late Yacine Louadah point sealed the win 2-5 to 1-1 much to the delight of the strong travelling Carrigaline support.And so onto the final where Carrigaline would take on another City side in Douglas who had advanced by defeating the defending champions Valley Rovers in the Semi-finals.  

This was a tough battle in ever deteriorating conditions. By this time the rain had started to fall heavily and with a strong wind blowing towards the Blackrock end of the ground it was sure to play a part in the final. Douglas had the advantage of the conditions in the first half, however a sterling defensive effort, helped in no small part by the wingback duo of Dylan Donnelly and Liam Joyce alongside midfielders Jamie Keane and Charlie Cox meant that Carrigaline went in level at half time 1-1 to 0-4. Rory Kennedy again on the scoresheet to net a crucial strike from a rebound. In the second half Carrigaline produced a magnificent display of counter attacking football. Finn O'Mahony hit a crucial goal followed by a pair of points from Louadah and another one from O'Sullivan meant that Carrialine could see the finishing line.

However Douglas were not finished and 1-1 from  them brought the gap back to 3 points and a grandstand finish. However Carrigaline were not to be denied and with Paul O'Herlihy starting a sweeping move, Rory Kennedy struck what seemed to be the winning goal. Louadah netted again quickly after to not only seal the win, but also his crowing of player of the tournament award. It finished 4-4 to 1-5 and Ben McCarthy and his merry band of history makers brought the cup back to Carrig.

Scorers for Carrigaline:V. Eire Óg -Rory Kennedy (2-01), Yacine Louadah (1-02)V. St. Nicks - Yacine Louadah (1-02), Ethan O'Sullivan (1-01), Rory Kennedy (0-01), Adam O'Driscoll (0-01)V Douglas - Rory Kennedy (2-00) Yacine Louadah (1-03), Finn O'Mahony (1-00), Ethan O'Sullivan (0-01)

CARRIGALINE squad: Sean Allen, Liam Greene, Liam Joyce, Ben McCarthy, Dylan Donnelly, Ethan O’Sullivan, Jamie Keane, Oisin Kearney Ronayne, Yacine Louadah, Adam O’Driscoll, Bobby Stanton, Paul O’Herlihy, Jack Healy, Charlie Cox, Finn O’Mahony, Rory Kennedy. SELECTORS: Billy McCarthy, Patrick Cox, Cian Ronayne.