Top-quality squad has left North End very close to glory

AS I thought about Saturday’s dream FAI Junior Cup final appearance for North End United, my mind was drawn to a photograph taken by Michael Harpur and printed on these pages some time ago.

It was at a home international in the Aviva - I can’t recall which one right now - but it depicted the Murphy brothers, Paul and Jason, cheering on the Republic of Ireland from the stands along with team-mate Andy Moore.

It’s one thing to be a supporter at a big game, but to get the opportunity to cross those white lines in club gear with a national title as the prize is special beyond words.

Paul confirms that observation in his interview with Dave Devereux elsewhere on this centrespread, and it’s undoubtedly going to be an occasion to savour for everyone involved.

The same holds true for Pike Rovers from Limerick of course, and the outcome may well boil down to which team is best able to park the surroundings and the atmosphere for 90-plus minutes and simply concentrate fully on getting the job done.

Playing at the Aviva is as big a deal for a soccer club player as lining out in Croke Park is for their G.A.A. counterparts.

The surface is like a carpet; I’m a season ticket holder in a very good seat close to midfield and, prior to every home international I try to get in early to watch the warm-ups and generally take in as much as possible.

It’s a magnificent setting for the final, but there’s no point in being content just to get that far, and I’ve no doubt the Sky Blues will treat this as a potential once in a lifetime chance and give it everything.

Their path to the final has been extremely impressive, overcoming some of the biggest names in Irish Junior soccer despite being on the road for each and every game in the last six rounds.

That’s the mark of a quality squad, and it’s just a shame that one of their midfield enforcers, the vastly experienced Shane Dempsey, will miss the final due to being overseas with the army.

I spotted a couple of the North End regulars at the Wexford F.C. game against Cabinteely last Friday, and it got me thinking about the calibre of player at their disposal.

‘Spot’ Murphy is a gifted performer, and he showed that in the old Youths’ one and only season as a Premier Division club in 2016, playing up front just behind main scoregetter Danny Furlong.

Then there’s Gary Delaney who always ranked among my personal favourite players when he was a key defender on that same team.

There’s no doubt that the arrival of the towering centre-half from Waterford this season has given North End that added steel at the back, and he was joined on that journey by Robin Dempsey whose talent as a youngster led to a spell with Aston Villa.

Many players give the League of Ireland a try but discover it’s not for them, and several in that category will be lining out for North End on Saturday.

The fact that Murphy and Delaney have been recently recognised by the international Junior manager says it all, because the longheld view has always been that it requires something exceptional from a non-Dublin based player to make the grade at that level.

Speaking of bosses, it’s only fitting that John Godkin gets an honourable mention at the end of this piece. He’s been in charge of the North End first team for even longer than Arsene Wenger had the reins at Arsenal, and it would take a large trophy cabinet to house all the silverware he has brought back to their Belvedere base.

Perhaps the greatest legacy of ‘Goggy’, though, is his ongoing devotion to some of the younger club sides, as he somehow still finds the time away from his first team duties to work with the up and coming players.

The weekend before last was a case in point, when he was a mentor with the Premier-winning Youths team which claimed the title despite losing half a dozen regulars to League of Ireland clubs.

He clearly has a gift for nurturing talent, and there will be no prouder man in the Aviva next Saturday if ‘Spot’ gets the chance to climb those steps and collect the cup.

Best wishes to all concerned on a momentous occasion for the club, and indeed for Wexford soccer as a whole.