Godkin deserves his day in the sun after super service

NORTH END are on the brink of their greatest day, just 90 minutes away from creating history by becoming the first Wexford club to win the FAI New Balance Junior Cup. Their appearance in Saturday’s final against cup specialists, Pike Rovers from Limerick, is entirely on merit.

And it’s a special occasion which their manager, John Godkin, thoroughly deserves, having patrolled the sidelines both at adult and under-age level for the club over so many seasons.

Indeed, it’s easy to forget the length of that stretch, having become so familiar with his presence at games at this stage.

This is one of the most difficult competitions to win in Irish soccer. When the cup campaign gets under way there are more than six hundred teams entered, many with aspirations of eventual success.

But as progress continues towards the end of the campaign it becomes increasingly difficult, as the cream of Irish Junior soccer emerges.

This is not about making things personal, but given North End’s dominance of the domestic scene, it was always Godkin’s ambition, particularly over recent seasons, to achieve something special for the club.

He set his sights possibly on Leinster Junior honours, but even more so on the prestigious FAI Junior Cup, a prize so coveted by all the major Junior clubs from Dublin to Cork, down to Limerick and across into Waterford and Kilkenny.

North End quietly progressed through the competition, reaching the semi-final where they came up against a quality St. Michael’s side from Tipperary.

It was in that second-half that North End announced their arrival as they threw everything at the home side, and it looked like they were going to leave with nothing after ‘keeper Adrian Walsh pulled off two first-class saves.

With four minutes to go, North End got a deserved equaliser through Anthony Beary, and in the 92nd minute Paul Murphy finished off a superb move to book their first-ever appearance in a national final and Saturday’s visit to the Aviva Stadium.

After over 650 clubs entering this season’s cu,p just two remain as we reach the climax of the competition in Lansdowne Road at 2 p.m.

John Godkin and his backroom team have moulded North End into a quality side, having also qualified for the FAI Senior Cup, while they are also firmly on course towards retaining the Premier League title.

It has been suggested in some quarters that North End are reaching a level that few sides in Wexford soccer can match as their blend of experience and youth now takes their game to another level, and that’s why they are the envy of so many clubs in the south-east.

They have a close-knit squad, players who have soldiered together down through the seasons, and with the introduction of fresh talent, they have now progressed to a level that sees them on the verge of national glory.

John Godkin has assembled an excellent squad and his side will not be overawed by Pike Rovers, who carry more experience in this competition.

And while they had a small bit of luck in surmounting their semi-final, they will be quietly confident of giving their band of supporters much to look forward to.

There is a good togetherness in the club from under-age right through to adult. While North End took it one game at a time, now it would be a massive achievement for the club to win the coveted FAI Junior Cup.

Courteous to a fault, it’s something John Godkin deserves given his input to the club over a lifetime. It would amount to one of the great personal achievements in his managerial career.

Godkin has had to earn this respect despite managing the Wexford League to their solitary Oscar Traynor success. Right now he is one of the most experienced managers in the Wexford League and is the ideal men to lead his side into battle on Saturday.

He has also shown an ability to mould a side that can compete at the highest level of Junior soccer and, while it has been a long time coming, their place at the top table next Saturday is richly deserved.

One would hope that come Saturday evening, Godkin is in a position to give himself a pat on the back. He richly deserves that and more.