THE LAST POINT: You can't beat an injury time winner

One of those phrases that, on the face of it, is blindingly obvious but you can't beat an injury time winner - be it gaelic football, rugby, soccer, hurling or whatever your sport is, the injury time winner is what we all grow up imagining doing on the greatest stage of all.

The injury time winner encapsulates why we devote so much of our energy, mental and physical, to sport - the sheer drama, the heightened stakes, the chasm that separates the joy of the victors and the despair of the losers as bedlam  erupts all over the ground and on the field - just look back to Ballinamore  last Saturday!

An injury time goal is the ultimate expression of the genre - think Ronan Kennedy's wonder goal back in 2015  to break Glencar Manorhamilton hearts  while Glencar Manorhamilton had their moment all of 25 years ago when James Kelly, an unlikely goal scorer if ever there was one, popped up to shatter  Fenagh, a 1-8 to 1-7 result that is still ruefully recalled a quarter of a century later around Fenagh parts.

Pairc Sheain Ui Eslin saw one of the greatest examples of an injury time winner just last December when Aoibheann Flynn drilled a wonder goal to send Ballinamore Sean O'Heslins to an All-Ireland Club Final -  imagine bursting the net on your home pitch to seal a trip to Croke Park, it doesn't get any better than that as the wild celebrations that broke out on the pitch afterwards confirmed.

But it is not just goals that get the heart pounding - Seamus Quinn's got up off his knees to  strike a 40 yard wonder score that took Leitrim  to their last Connacht Senior Final in 2000, probably the most famous example during my time with the Observer, while Ronan Kennedy, that man again, did much the same for Mohill in 2006 as they rose from the dead with six unanswered points to pip St Mary's in Cloone.

THE LAST POINT: BUILD IT BECAUSE THEY'RE ALREADY HERE!

Domhnaill Flynn and Tom Prior added their names to the illustrious chapter of 'injury time winners' in  Saturday's Connacht Gold Senior Semi-Finals, both scores coming deep in injury time as Ballinamore Sean O'Heslins and Mohill booked their place in the Final at the expense of St Mary's Kiltoghert and Fenagh St Caillins.

Given the immensity of the occasion, the overbearing tension seeping onto the field from the fans, Domhnaill and Tom  wrote their names into local folklore - regardless of what happens in the final on Sunday week, both those scores will be remembered for quite some time.

The tidal wave of joy that greets a winner like that can hide quite a few things that went wrong and it is not a stretch to say that it wouldn't have taken much for St Mary's or Fenagh to have ended up in the final - certainly Fenagh had more than  a few gilt edged chances as the champions appeared to be on the ropes in those closing minutes.

Domhnaill Flynn's wonder score, which veered one way and then  the other, from distance and under pressure has all the classic ingredients of an injury time winner - there are  those who honestly believed it flew wide but from this writer's vantage point, the ball dipped back inside the post to break Fenagh hearts.

But as much as the plaudits go to Flynn, we also had an example of the lesser known but equally important 'injury time game saver' when David Mitchell somehow conjured up not just a block but a recovery of the ball from Riordan O'Rourke's shot, an incident that absolutely decided this game.

Had O'Rourke's effort gone over, and the Fenagh lad did everything right, the in-game situation was radically different - Fenagh would have been defending a lead and they'd have taken a few cards to stop Mohill's progress no matter the cost as  they'd have been infused with belief  - everything would have been in their favour.

Mitchell's extraordinary block instead lifted Mohill and filled them with the belief that they wouldn't be beaten. How else do you explain it? Shane Quinn's blistering run on exhausted legs or Domhnaill Flynn, a man his manager admitted had hardly seen the ball, pulling out of the drawer a score to stand the test of time.

Tom Prior's winner was a little less  aesthetically pleasing in terms of the 'injury time winner' canon - there was still a bit of time to be played and it was more of a breakaway but in terms of the occasion, Prior probably hasn't registered a more important scores in his career and he has some important ones in his locker.

Whatever about the pressure of a semi-final, this was a chance to send Ballinamore to a Senior Final in their own Pairc Sheain Ui Eslin - that's the sort of opportunity that comes around maybe, if you are lucky, once in a lifetime but after a superb individual display, Tom rose to the occasion magnificently, his winner a worthy addition to the lore of last minute winners.

Curiously, both games ended on a 0-12 to 1-8 scoreline with injury time winners and the teams who scored the goals, both in the second half, went on to lose the game - I don't know what that means, we think goals win games but the interesting fact is that with ten minutes to go, St Mary's & Fenagh had the lead only to see O'Heslins and Mohill storm back to win.

There will be a fair amount of regret in both Fenagh and St Mary's right now and, to look at Fenagh first, they must be wondering if there is some curse on them as they've lost at the semi-final stage for each of the last three years and in three of the most galling ways. 2022, they lost to St Mary's in a penalty shootout, last year's defeat came after extra-time. A poor first half left them in a hole before a wonderful second half display took them to the brink of victory only for Mohill to snatch a late equaliser - sound familiar anyone?

The difference this year was Mohill finished the job in added time but I'm sure down in Fenagh, the feeling is just the same. They've had a turbulent year with a change of management and another injury for Ryan O'Rourke but still, they had a Final appearance within their grasp only for it to be snatched away. The question  is can they go to the well again or does this break their spirit? Only time will tell but my feeling is that there is too much talent in their ranks for them not to.

THE LAST POINT: CHANGE GAME FOR GAELIC FOOTBALL NEEDS A LOT OF GOODWILL

St Mary's face the same questions - an array of young talent with a conveyor belt coming through, can they find the spark that has been conspicuously absent this year. We talked last week about how their system that has made them extremely hard to beat also leaves the opposition in games. They were only a kick of a ball away from reaching a third final on the trot but they were devoid of  an attacking spark that might have got them across there.

It is not that they are without talent but a slavish devotion to their structure and system has, much like the Dubs this year, blunted their attacking edge. Rediscover that verve that overwhelmed Mohill two years in the final quarter of the County Final and they'll be very hard beaten but for now, they've got to lick their wounds.

We'll talk more about Mohill and Ballinamore ahead of the final but I didn't get much chance to expound on Melvin Gaels' extra time classic with Kiltubrid. That was another game that turned on minute details with Gary Clancy's wonder point, unfortunately not in added time, an incredible score.

But I can't let the column go by without mentioning that Shane Foley is hanging up his boots. I've been covering his career for 25 years at Senior level and what you always got from him was unflinching dedication  and an extraordinary level of consistent excellence. He'll be under pressure to come back but if it is the last we see of him on the field, all true fans will wish him well after a lifetime of remarkable devotion to both Kiltubrid and Leitrim.