Ryan: ‘Everything in Kilshannig just seems to be rising right now’
Diarmuid Sheehan Kilshannig manager Richie Ryan is enjoying the ride as the club seems to be on the cusp of a wave
ILSHANNIG will head into their first adult junior football final in 23 years when they take on St James’ at Páirc Uí Rinn next Sunday afternoon.
The North Cork side will take to the field in the JAFC final this weekend knowing that their opponents are as fresh to the experience of county finals as they are, but there will be no time for either side to acclimatise as all concerned look to hit the ground running from the first whistle.
Kilshannig manager Richie Ryan has been with his winning team right through the season and feels that at the moment things are going really well for his charges and for the club as a whole.
“Everything in Kilshannig just seems to be rising now and long may that continue. There is a lot of excitement now in the area, especially since we won the semi-final.
“That win over Iveleary was very important for us as they were a very strong side that have been knocking around now for quite a while – so to win that was a huge one for us.
“We are looking forward to the game and looking forward to going back to Páirc Uí Rinn on Sunday.
We have had a good enough run up there in recent years with minors and Under 21s so lots of the lads are familiar enough with the place so hopefully that will all help us on the day.”
The age profile of the Kilshannig squad is something that many clubs could only dream of having and Ryan knows that this should be a major help to his side both this year and into the future.
“We have a very young squad and a young team with our oldest outfield player is 28 with the oldest playing is our goalkeeper and he is 34 – he brings plenty experience where it is needed. We have eight, nine, 10 under 21s all the time which is all very positive for this team and the club as a whole.”
There is a lot of positivity around the club at present and Ryan is quick to point out that is about more than this team – it goes all the way through the grades.
“We beat Douglas in Under 21 football there last Saturday and of that team there were five minors as well so there is a lot of good footballers there running through the club.”
Ryan will be able to call upon an almost full squad this weekend however he will be down one player that has been important throughout the campaign.
“We have a few niggles and bit of pieces to work on alright and of course we lost Darragh O’Sullivan to a thigh injury in the semi but other than that we have a full squad to pick from.”
If you are to win a county final you will need at least 10 or 12 lads to be winning their individual battles
– Richie Ryan
While this is a team game there is no doubting that eyes will be trained on Kilshannig captain and Cork senior star Killian O’Hanlon, but Ryan is
“There are two O’Hanlon brothers really that are huge players for us – there is no denying that with Éanna and Killian we have two really good players and it is obvious that any county player is going to get a bit of extra coverage but we are thrilled to have them both playing.
“That said, you need a big panel of players to win something like this – you need lads to be driving each other along at training and during games and on any given day you need over 20 fellows to perform.
“If you are to win a county final you will need at least 10 or 12 lads to be winning their individual battles so this is more about the team and the squad than it is about any one player.”
So where does the Kilshannig manager think this one will be won or lost?
“Well I suppose you have to look at the middle eight and go from there. If you are not winning plenty ball around the middle you are going backwards and of course if you are winning it then you’re going forward and that is key to winning games like this. You have to be winning in the middle and getting your hands on the ball and from there the game should be easier.
“This time of the year the scoring won’t be huge and if you can get anywhere up around 1-10 you could win a lot of games, but we would hope for more that said, we only need to win by a point and that is the same for St James’ so that will be the main goal from the off.”