ACROSS the board, this has been a progressive year for Cork football and the county’s All-Ireland minor victory was the cherry on top.

The U20s came within a goal of eventual All-Ireland champions Kerry, while the seniors earned promotion to Division 1 and reached the All-Ireland quarter-finals.

Among those in attendance at St Conleth’s Park, Newbridge last Sunday was Cork senior manager John Cleary. As he left the ground afterwards, there was a smile on his face.

After watching the minors produce a stirring comeback against Tyrone, why wouldn’t he be smiling? Cork football is on the rise, and minor coach Maurice Moore believes it too.

‘The potential is there. I was talking to John Cleary there – the seniors have had a great year,’ an emotional Moore said afterwards.

‘There’s belief in GAA in Cork. Both hurling and football. The key is we get the people behind them even when we’re losing. That will turn it. That will make those players special. Makes them into strong personalities. Eventually, we’ll get there.’

While coaching Cork’s U20s alongside Keith Ricken in 2019, Moore watched the Rebels recover from nine points down to beat Dublin in Portlaoise and win the All-Ireland.

The comeback in Newbridge last Sunday eclipsed even that.

‘It’s so special. We won one in 2019 with the U20s, myself and Keith. When we came back from nine down that day, I thought, “Oh my God. How did we come back from this?” But in this final, we were nine down halfway through the second half,’ Moore said.

‘They’re a special bunch of players. They’ve shown it all year. We have been working with them since October. They’ve shown heart, grit, determination, resilience. Everything you need in a teenager playing sport.

‘Hopefully, this will turn everything towards Cork football. There are special people involved in Cork football. We showed out on the pitch what it means,’ Moore noted.

On a memorable afternoon, fans stayed on the pitch long after the final whistle to savour the moment. Chants of ‘Rebels, Rebels’ echoed around the ground, a timely reminder of what this team has given Cork football supporters.

‘It’s not dreams because these players will be thinking about these things. The most important thing coming into the game was bringing them down to earth, putting their feet on the ground,’ the Carbery Rangers clubman said.

‘The support that came was brilliant. There were buses coming from clubs. What a fantastic stadium as well, an amphitheatre for a game like that. We’ll remember it forever.’

Even before the crowd had started to filter in before throw-in, the Cork players were kicking the ball to each other, a feature of their play throughout the season.

It was epitomised by Eoghan Ahern’s match-winning goal when Joe Miskella played a long, direct ball into the danger area. It is the brand of football Ricken and Moore have encouraged all year – and it paid off.

‘If it’s a little template of what Cork football was about and should be, well so be it and that’s what it will be,’ Moore added.