‘That was just brilliant’ - David Martin on TUS victory

By Kevin Egan

The new era of Gaelic football may be just around the corner, but if you spent Saturday afternoon on the couch watching Errigal Ciarán edge out Dr Crokes by 2-18 to 1-18, and followed that by going into Athlone to watch TUS Midlands deliver a shock win over Maynooth University in the Sigerson Cup by an almost identical scoreline, you could be forgiven for thinking that there was no need to change anything.

It was certainly no surprise that TUS Midlands manager David Martin felt good about the sport of football after his side’s win, which he felt was typical of the type of action that is normally on offer in this competition.

“That was just brilliant,” said the Maryland clubman, while his players filed into the dressing room with broad smiles on their faces.

“Sigerson football is just end to end, both teams go for it and it’s the way football should be played. It’s hell for leather going for scores, and the lads were brilliant tonight. Going to extra-time tonight, we have some guys playing with county teams and others not back training with their clubs yet, so it’s a mixed bag, but they died with their boots on. Some of the diving blocks there at the end were absolutely fantastic,” he continued.

Not everyone expected that kind of encounter, given the weather. There’s no doubt that not every referee would have made the same decision as Aaron Clogher and chose to proceed, but Martin said that both teams wanted the game played, and while it made things a little more challenging, he said there was no safety issue involved.

“It was the third attempt at getting the game played and both teams knew that we were out again on Wednesday, so it had to be played. And as it turned out, the fog was at its worst at the start, it lifted as the game went on.

“Playing Monday and again on Wednesday would have been very tough, now we’re going into a game against MTU Cork (in MTU Cork at 7.15pm tonight, Wednesday) and the two teams will relish the chance to play that game” he said.

“Both teams have that cushion of safety, we have Sigerson football next season. When the shackles are off it can be a very different mindset. I wouldn’t have fancied going up to Letterkenny next Wednesday night with our backs to the wall!”

Instead it’s Maynooth who now face a relegation showdown with ATU Donegal, though the Kildare college will have home advantage for that game due to a home/away arrangement.

Most neutral pundits expected TUS Midlands to fall into that trap but Brían Cooney, who had a tremendous game scoring 1-3 and still making huge defensive blocks in the closing minutes, said that the players had a different view.

“No-one really gave us a look in before that match but we believed in the dressing room, and that’s always the main thing. Everyone went at their man, won frees and went bombing forward when we could. The kick on at the end of the game gave us even more confidence for extra-time,” said Cooney, who was a key figure on last year's Westmeath U20 team.

Cooney was pulled back when attempted to take a ‘solo and go’ free at one stage and he agreed that switching between new and old rules as he goes from county to college games isn’t easy. But at a time when some county managers aren’t giving players a chance to fully engage in the Sigerson Cup, Cooney paid tribute to both Martin, and new Lake County manager Dermot McCabe.

“The managers understand, they want to mind your load. Everyone would get injured if you played the whole time so everyone is conscious of that and the communication is good.

“We’ll all get a bounce out of this now, it’s great to have the Cork game to look forward to, and at the end of the day it’s still football and nothing beats playing games,” added the Coralstown-Kinnegad player.

Scorers - TUS Midlands: B Cooney 1-3, M Gibbons 0-6 (6f), O Flynn 1-1, M Whittaker 0-3, C Hunt 0-2 (2f), D Flynn, B Kelly and D Kenny (f) 0-1 each. Maynooth University: E Frayne 0-8 (3f), C Duke, L Crowley and K McArdle (1 45') 0-3 each, E Emmanuel 0-2, N Aherne and B O’Halloran 0-1 each.

TUS Midlands: Eoin Moran (Maryland, Westmeath); Jack Dowd (Annaghdown, Galway), Josh Gahan (Coralstown-Kinnegad, Westmeath), Darragh McVann (Summerhill, Meath); Oisin Kenny (Ferbane, Offaly), Declan Kenny (Pádraig Pearses, Roscommon), Matthew Whittaker (Tubberclair, Westmeath); Sean Kelly (Mountbellew-Moylough, Galway), Simon Finn (Ballinabrackey, Meath); Oisin Flynn (Castleconnor, Sligo), Shane Fleming (Coralstown-Kinnegad), Brían Cooney (Coralstown-Kinnegad); Brandon Kelly (Milltownpass, Westmeath), Mark Gibbons (Garrymore, Mayo), Darragh Flynn (Ferbane). Subs: Cillian Plunkett (St Loman’s, Westmeath) for Fleming (46 mins), Cillian Hunt (Parnells, Dublin) for O Kenny (52), Padraig Carton (Kilbeggan Shamrocks, Westmeath) for D Flynn (54), Podge Quinn (Coralstown-Kinnegad) for Finn (58), Darragh Flynn for Gibbons (80).

Maynooth University (Kildare unless stated): Eoin Sheehan (Johnstownbridge); Sean O’Hare (Rathkenny, Meath), Tom McPhillips (Latton, Monaghan), Brian O’Halloran (Ballivor, Meath); Daniel Scahill (Shandonagh, Westmeath), Tom Moran (Dunlavin, Wicklow), James Harris (Castlemitchell); Conor Gray (Dunshaughlin, Meath), Sean Emmanuel (St Patrick’s Stamullen, Meath); Harry Plunkett (Tullamore, Offaly), Kieran McArdle (St Bride’s, Louth), Conor Duke (Dunshaughlin); Niall Aherne (Naas), Eoghan Frayne (Summerhill, Meath), Luke Crowley (Glenflesk, Kerry). Subs: Oisin Grufferty (St Laurence’s) for Scahill (h-t), Fionn Ó Giolláin (Maynooth) for Grey (h-t), Geordi O’Meara (Ballinagar, Offaly) for Aherne (50 mins), Conor McGuinness (St Patrick’s, Louth) for Crowley (58), Ciaran Daly (Coralstown-Kinnegad, Westmeath) for Plunkett (60+3), Harry Plunkett for Daly (f-t), Rob Fitzgerald (Naas) for McGuinness (f-t), Conor Gray for Plunkett (67), Luke Crowley for O’Hare (70), Ciaran Daly for Ó Giolláin (76).

Referee: Aaron Clogher (Roscommon).

*See this week's paper for a report on the TUS Midlands v Maynooth University match.