Oran Kearney: We came here hungry to achieve even more

Oran Kearney shares a special moment with his son Luca. PICTURE: David Cavan

It was only the Bannsiders second away win in European competitionin 50 years, the first a 3-2 victory at Kilmarnock in the Inter Cities Fairs Cup back in 1970.

But despite writing himself into the club’s Kearney was back to reality again yesterday morning in his job as teacher at Cross and Passion College in Ballycastle watching over the Year 8 pupils on their break.

Kearney masterminded the victory over NK Maribor in between his teaching duties as he returned to school again, and is a very proud man at what players have achieved.

“They are a phenomenal bunch and we know that from working with them and through the success the club has had in recent years,” he said after the game.

“We know the mindset that the players have and we are so proud of them tonight and particularly I think people in our country will know that in the Irish Cup semi-final we were put out on penalties.

“We probably hit four or five of the worst penalties that you could ever imagine and tonight I think we showed a huge amount of character that each and every one of them stepped up and hit a superb penalty.

“That just shows you the mindset of the group.

“For our club the last time we progressed through one round in Europe was maybe the old Intertoto Cup 17 or 18 years ago.

“We were delighted to progress through the first round and we came here hungry to achieve even more.

“The reward now to get through another round is fantastic for the club and we look forward to the draw next week.

“It is nice and it is a privilege I suppose to be in that position for our club it is uncharted territory but one we are very proud of.

“You come into a game like this with a game plan and you have to have belief in a game like this.

“I think there was also some reality with our belief where we knew how tough tonight was going to be.

“We had a plan and to be fair to the players they stuck to that plan fantastically well.

“I thought our management of the game was really good throughout the 90 minutes and extra time in particular.”

It was an extra special moment for the Bannsiders boss as he was able to share it with his son Luca, who had also made the trip to Slovenia with the Coleraine players and officials.

“He is football crazy so it has been a fantastic experience for him,” he said.

“The whole reason to bring him out here was to try and fulfil his love for the game and number two to create a memory that will live with him for a very long time.”