Gorey Rangers manager Willie Peare doesn’t care that Rangers are underdogs for FAI Junior Cup final

The town is buzzing and Gorey Rangers are just 90 minutes away from All-Ireland glory…

It’s the first time in the club’s history that they have reached an FAI Junior Cup final. In the semi-final, they defeated Villa FC in a game where very few outside of Wexford were giving them a chance in. They defeated them on penalties after the sides couldn’t be separated at the end of extra-time, with the score reading 1-1 apiece.

With a historic FAI Junior Cup final against Cockhill Celtic around the corner for Gorey Rangers on the Bank Holiday Sunday – Sunday May 5th – I got the thoughts of the Gorey Rangers manager, Willie Peare.

Speaking to Adam Connor of Wexford Weekly, the Gorey Rangers manager discussed how proud he was of the Gorey Rangers team:

“I’m unbelievably proud of the season and the players. Getting to the FAI semi-final last year along with a Leinster final to go that extra step this year has been great.”

Willie also mentioned how impressive it was how the players carried themselves throughout the season.

Then, I asked for a few standout players and Willie was not able to give me any, but really, that was for all the right reasons:

“All of them have been standout players for me, I wouldn’t be able to name a couple. I built a squad last season and a few left but the lads who stepped in have been brilliant. Even half way during this season we lost Paul Murphy to Bray Wanderers, but fortunately we got Conor Bruce into the panel,” he said.

Cockhill Celtic are from Inisowen, Co. Donegal, so they will obviously be an unfamiliar opponent to Rangers, but I asked Willie if he knew much about them.

“I don’t know much about them. What I do know is they were an Intermediate team last year and got to the Intermediate final. They have made the step back to Junior this year. They have lost a few players to intermediate clubs in the locality but they are very experienced and will be a good side,” Peare told Wexford Weekly.

At the moment, it would be hard to walk down Gorey town and not see a shop draped in the red and black colours of Gorey Rangers. Speaking to Wexford Weekly, Willie discussed the support from the town and local business which have provided sponsorship for the club on the day:

“It’s brilliant to see. We are thankful for it all. To be able to travel up the night before and stay over without having to worry about costs is fantastic. It will be a great day and occasion for the town.”

Lastly, I probed Willie with one tricky question. The bookies have Cockhill Celtic as odds on favourites, priced at 1/3, and I asked Willie if that meant anything to him and his response was emphatic “No.”

“Villa FC (Rangers opposition in the semi final) were favourites too and we won that day. We like being the underdog,” he said emphatically.

It was a very interesting chat that has got me even more excited for the final. The final takes place in Eamon Deacy Park in Galway on the 5th of May.

Enjoy the day to all the players, management and supporters. In the words of the great Neil Warnock; Enjoy it, but enjoy it by being fu*cking Disciplined! Best of luck to Gorey Rangers!