Eddie wins awards and Munster semi on super Saturday

ALMOST everything Eddie Goggin has touched this season has turned to goals – but it’s the chances that he misses that frustrate him.

Last weekend was another memorable one for the Gabriel Rangers forward as his club qualified for the Munster junior club football final on Saturday afternoon, and later that night Goggin picked up a Carbery GAA All-Star award and, even better, he was chosen as the 2016 Carbery Junior Footballer of the Year.

‘I’m delighted with the award, it’s a very proud moment for myself, my family and the team,’ he told The Southern Star. 

‘It’s great to see so many Gabriels fellas get on the team (eight were selected on the Carbery GAA All-Star football team) and even the players who were nominated but didn’t get on the team have had great seasons and played their part.’

The Footballer of the Year award and the All-Star are just rewards for the lethal Gabriels forward whose goal-scoring heroics have been a feature of his side’s West Cork and county championship triumphs.

But last Saturday in the Munster semi-final win (1-13 to 1-4) against Tipperary champions Clonoulty-Rossmore in Clonakilty, Goggin failed to raise the green flag; this was an exception to the rule as he has scored ten goals in ten championship games and up until last weekend only failed to score a goal in one championship match this campaign.

‘It’s a pity that I didn’t score one last Saturday – one shot hit the post and then I missed a one-on-one with the last kick of the game,’ Goggin said, with a shake of the head, before explaining the secret to his goal-scoring exploits in 2016.

‘This season Mike O’Brien came in as manager and he drilled it into me and all the other attackers that goals win games. It’s about goals, goals, goals. Every game this year I normally get at least one goal chance, maybe two, and usually this season – apart from last Saturday – they go in. 

‘When I was younger I normally kicked a load of points but it’s changed now, I’m just getting one or two points in a game but I’m getting goals instead. It gives you confidence. It’s a great feeling to score a goal and it also hurts the opposition. 

‘We’ve been scoring goals as a team and hopefully that will continue on Sunday week.’

On December 4th, the villages of Schull and Ballydehob will relocate to Mallow for the Munster junior football final against Glenbeigh-Glencar, who have Kerry senior Darran O’Sullivan in their ranks, former Kerry panellist Pa Kilkenny and former UCC forward Gavin O’Grady, who kicked 0-8 in the 1-13 to 0-6 semi-final win against Gerald Griffins (Limerick) last Sunday.

‘This will be Cork v Kerry, the rivalry is there but we know we are up against it and that we are underdogs. We’ll prepare as well as we can and I don’t see any reason why we can’t go on and win Munster,’ Goggin said.

‘They have some very strong players like Darran O’Sullivan and Pa Kilkenny but we’ll get our game-plan together, give it one hell of a go and hopefully come out on top in two weeks.

‘Once we walk off the pitch with no regrets, we can’t do any more than that. We’re going to give it everything we have, it’s a Munster final, we might never get this chance again so we’re going to make the most of it.’

Goggin, still only 22, will turn 23 on December 19th, and while it’s already been a dream season, bringing a Munster trophy back to West Cork will make Christmas even better for the 2016 Carbery Junior Footballer of the Year.