Important now to develop these players to senior level - Brian Dunne

Having just beaten Portarlington the U/17 Football Championship final, Portlaoise manager Brian Dunne reflected on the past years in the club and how they have gone 12 years without winning a minor title. He knew there was something special about the group of lads that he’s had since there were U/13s. Dunne emphasised the importance of developing the lads to step up to senior.

“It feels great. Look, we were waiting since 2012 for this, and we've been building for it for the last few years. We knew we had a team there back when they were under 13 that they were going to produce something special, and I think they produced it today on the big stage. It's all about developing young players in Portlaoise and that was our main aim. So win, lose or draw today, we've developed a few lads to move on to our Senior team and that's where we want to go,” Dunne said.

The Portlaoise minor team put on a fine display of football for the huge crowd in O’Moore Park on Sunday afternoon. Dunne mentioned how difficult a minor is to overcome, especially with the pressure in front of a large audience.

“It's a testament to them. It's not easy winning a minor. You don't know how lads are going to perform on the big day anyway. This is a cauldron; this place is full now for Portlaoise and Portarlington in the senior. So, the pressure was on, and they just needed to perform so they did that for us today. All we asked for was a performance. If they had of lost and they had of performed, I wouldn't have minded. But we got the win, and we're delighted,” he added.

Dunne spoke about their slow start to the group stage of the championship where they suffered two defeats. He said a good few of the lads had just returned from county and the team needed to gel but with hard work and determination, they got over the line.

“We had a good few boys who went in with the county that were only after finishing up. So, we hadn't got them long, there was a lot of work to do but we built and built and built for this day. We're here now with the cup and that's the main thing,” he commented.

The first half of the game was incredibly tight with Portlaoise only leading by one at the break. Dunne knew a couple of goals would kill the game and the lads got three in nine minutes. He admired the ‘class’ of the players on the field especially his goal scorers.

“Portarlington are a serious team. Going in a point up at half time, it was tit for tat in the first half. We knew that if we could get in and get a few goals we'd kill the game, and we got in for a few there. Darren showed his class there twice. I think Finn got in for one as well. When you've got class on the field and you can get them on the ball and they can get the scores, that kills everything. We're just delighted with that,” Dunne finished.