THE Cork masters football team are on the cusp of All-Ireland glory.

The Rebels face Galway in the All-Ireland Masters Challenge Cup final this Saturday (2pm) in Cappamore, Limerick, having beaten London in the semi-final, 1-14 to 1-8.

Galway got to the decider having received a walkover from Antrim.

Manager Tony Leahy, who has All-Ireland winning experience with the Cork U21s in 2007, has enjoyed this journey.

‘We first got together in February and we did the simple stuff. The way I see it is that we have a game and we’ll finish up with a win or a loss. A lot of fellas have bought into it,’ he said.

‘A great bond has developed. It’s more about the players now than anything else. I said on the Star Sport Podcast that it doesn’t make any difference what club you're from – this is about Cork GAA and everyone is working for each other.

‘Every game we go out, we give it 100 percent. We were unlucky to come up short in a few games, against Limerick and Kerry in particular.

‘We are a settled team now. We got a run. We beat Clare, then Laois, then London. It took us a long time to get over the losses, but we did it. That’s down to the lads’ resilience. Their heart and just the competitiveness that's there. You’ll never lose that edge.’

Victory on Saturday against Galway would mean a lot to this group.

The Cork masters football team that beat London in the All-Ireland Challenge Cup semi-final in Annanough GAA club in Laois.

‘It's hard to explain what an All-Ireland win would be like, but I know, from my own point of view, I’d be absolutely thrilled,’ Leahy said.

‘The pleasure I’m after getting out of this group of players is huge. Some of those fellas come from different parts of the county, with different levels of skills. Some of these fellas wouldn't have played in county finals.

‘The boys at training last Saturday morning were actually walking on air. They’re looking forward to it. It would be absolutely tremendous to win it. All they want is to win an All-Ireland. Some of these lads wouldn't have even dreamed of playing in an All-Ireland final back in the day. From the start of the year, I’ve only been here to facilitate. That’s all I’m doing.’

The West Cork players involved include St Oliver Plunkett’s John Paul O’Driscoll, who captains the team, Flor Crowley from O’Donovan Rossa, Flor O’Sullivan of Goleen and Urhan’s Flor Harrington. Bandon’s Conor Sugrue was in previous matchday squads during the campaign.

Cork trailed London 1-5 to 0-6 at the break, but a Ger O’Neill goal was key for the Leesiders as they outscored the Exiles 1-8 to 0-3 in the second period.

‘It took us a bit to get into the London game. They were absolutely huge in size. Physically, they were way bigger and stronger than us. They could play football too. But we found a way around it,’ Leahy said.

‘It was almost like a rugby team so we had to move them around the pitch with our passes. Once we got into it and started moving around the pitch, it worked a treat in the end.

‘We pulled away from them as they were tiring and we just drove on. The goal settled us. We didn’t give them possession during the second half and that made a huge difference. It was a great win,’ Leahy added.

The group will prepare for their final test as they have done throughout the campaign.

‘We won’t change anything. We were training the midweek after the semi-final and then on a Saturday morning. We’re getting together on Thursday night before the game this weekend. There’s no point in changing anything at this stage. We’re organised,’ the Cork boss said.

‘We don’t know much about Galway. They had no semi-final as Antrim pulled out. What we do know is that they’d be good footballers. They’ll be playing a good brand of football but I know we have the players that can match their skills as well. I expect it to be a good game and I’d be hoping that we’d come out on the right side of it.’

The work behind the scenes cannot go unnoticed either. People like secretary Sean Horgan deserve massive praise.

‘The amount of work Sean is putting in is tremendous. The work he's done is phenomenal, and the players appreciate that. He organises food on the way back from matches, referees, sponsorship, stuff like that. His organisational skills are epic. Sean is probably doing 80 percent of the work off the field,’ Leahy added.