When Ollie Dooley emerged from the triumphant Padraig Pearses dressing room he was wearing a wry smile. The memories of so many unsuccessful attempts to capture the minor title in recent times had vanished – a new era had been born. The man who was largely responsible for Pearses’ first minor title in 25 years was quick to pronounce what it meant to the club. Pearses’ minor manager said: ‘It means an awful lot to this club. For a club of this stature to go so long without a title at this level is nearly unheard of so this is fantastic for us. You can just see the excitement here today. ‘I know the importance of winning a minor title. Of course there is no guarantee that this will transfer into a senior title but it is certainly a huge boost for the club and now we have a foundation to work off’. Although one sensed that once Pearses’ claimed their second goal of the game midway through the half that it was going to be their day, Ollie never allowed himself to slip into the comfort zone towards the end of the game – a lesson he had learned through experience. ‘I never let myself think that this game had been won before the final whistle had been blown. A few years ago, I was manager of the senior team at the club and having been nine points up towards the end of a county semi-final we were lucky to come out with a draw so experience told me that anything can happen in football.’ Ollie also stressed the importance of having a winning mentality – an attribute which he feels can stand to these young footballers at senior level. ‘This win is great because now these lads have a winning feeling. They know what it feels to win. We have a senior team at the minute who have not got that but these young lads have and I’m sure we’ll see six or seven of them bring that forward to senior level next year which will be a massive help.’ Ollie also complemented the panel of players that were involved this year. He paid tribute to them on a day which saw them capture their third such title at this grade in their history. ‘The panel of players were fantastic throughout. From one to twenty-eight they were such a credit. There were lads out there today who never played one minute of championship football this year but were still at training every night and did everything they were asked to do. ‘I have to pay special tribute to Niall Carty. He got injured last year as we all know and to come back and captain this team to a minor title is some achievement. That lad would get on any minor team in Ireland. He was such an inspiration throughout’ concluded Ollie.
This Week’s Digital Edition
