{"id":456320,"date":"2026-05-19T08:43:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T08:43:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/456320\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T08:43:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T08:43:10","slug":"keith-ricken-unstoppable-mantra-drove-cork-minors-to-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/456320\/","title":{"rendered":"Keith Ricken: Unstoppable mantra drove Cork minors to success"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cork manager Keith Ricken praised the character and composure of his young side after they ended the county\u2019s four-year wait for an Electric Ireland Munster MFC title with a 1-13 to 0-14 extra-time victory over Kerry in the final at P\u00e1irc U\u00ed Rinn on Monday.<\/p>\n

The scenes after the game said it all on what was a night to remember on Leeside.<\/p>\n

Ricken said the win was a reward for the work the group has put in all year and for the resilience they showed when the game turned against them at different stages.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are the things you live for, these games, whether you\u2019ve won or lost,” he said post-match.<\/p>\n

“There was a moment there in the second half of normal time when we were creeping back into the game and I said to myself, ‘I\u2019m really proud of this crowd’. They worked so hard and they believed in themselves. They\u2019re a very lovely group.<\/p>\n

\"CorkCork players celebrate after defeating Kerry. Picture: Eddie O’Hare<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a saying among us, ‘If it\u2019s unstoppable or unbeatable, which one do we want to pick?’ And they always say unstoppable. Everyone can be beaten, but you can\u2019t be stopped. That\u2019s the mantra with this group.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ricken praised the maturity shown by a panel made up largely of 16 and 17-year-olds, especially in a contest where momentum, decisions and emotion all fluctuated.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re a very mature bunch,” he says.<\/p>\n

“You saw the way they played tonight. We didn\u2019t play particularly well, a lot of decisions went against us. But we stuck to our task.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the second half of extra time we were on top, we were all over them. We were beating them hands down. We knew we were spending every bit of energy we had. Loads of wides, a bit of rashness, but that\u2019s young lads, that\u2019s minors, that\u2019s a lack of fear.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“I\u2019d much rather they do that and lose than be afraid to try and kick a shot. Great credit to Kerry also. It was a fantastic turnaround over the space of two weeks. They really put it up to us. It was a great game of football by 22 or 23 players from Cork and the same with Kerry.”<\/p>\n

\"Cork'sCork’s \u00c9anna Lynch is tackled by Kerry’s Danny Murphy. Picture: Eddie O’Hare<\/p>\n

The Cork manager admitted the team needed a searching test after a relatively comfortable run through the group stage.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had loads of games this year and in the championship we won three games at a canter,” the St Vincent’s clubman states.<\/p>\n

“We needed to be asked questions. One of the lads said during the week, \u2018We haven\u2019t been pushed yet \u2014 what happens if we get pushed?\u2019 Well, the proof is in the pudding now.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a turning point there, \u00c9anna Lynch had a fantastic diving block. That almost flipped the switch in us. We got up, got going, moved the ball, and got a score or two.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only thing I was really irked with was we had a lot of yellow cards tonight. We haven\u2019t had a yellow card all season. Maybe lads were over excited, maybe it was interpretation. We\u2019ll have to look at the video.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey don\u2019t get the hump or get sulky if they\u2019re brought off or given out to. They just get on with it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ricken said the group had been challenged from the start of the year to show maturity beyond their age.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the start of the year we asked them to be 19 years of age. They\u2019re very young \u2014 16, 17 \u2014 that\u2019s a big ask. But we asked them to be mature, to take responsibility. They\u2019re doing that all year in training. Their confidence is up, their attitude is up.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Cork'sCork’s Jacob Barry is fouled by Kerry’s Daith\u00ed Laide. Picture: Eddie O’Hare<\/p>\n

“They\u2019re better at home, better citizens really at the end of the day.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Asked about the wider significance for Cork football, Ricken was careful not to place any burden on the minors.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t put that responsibility on the shoulders of young boys. We wouldn\u2019t do that in anything else in life, so we\u2019re not going to do it in football. It\u2019s just a lovely time to be that age.<\/p>\n

“Seeing the lads all singing inside the dressing room\u2026 that\u2019s what they\u2019ll remember. Young men having the time of their life.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis success is great for people who are genuinely interested in Cork football. Our U20s were brilliant this year. The seniors have had a good year so far. There\u2019s always been a good spirit in Cork football \u2014 it just needs results to go the right way.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cork manager Keith Ricken praised the character and composure of his young side after they ended the county\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":456321,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[1964,61,60,112],"class_list":["post-456320","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-cork-gaa","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456320","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=456320"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456320\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/456321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=456320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=456320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=456320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}