Pure relief for Conor Reynolds & Annaduff to finally get across the line

Pure relief, pure and simple, was the overriding emotion for Conor Reynolds when the final whistle sounded last Sunday in Avant Money Pairc Sean Mac Diarmada to signify that Annaduff had finally gotten their hands on the Smith Monumentals IFC title!

A tense encounter with Melvin Gaels saw Annaduff prevail by just two points but after three previous final losses, the sound of that final whistle was greeted by pure relief from Conor: “I was saying to the lads that it was pure relief when the full-time whistle went, to finally get over the line. 

“We’ve been in a few finals and we never showed up in the big games so we just got it right today. So it was just pure relief when they were banging in high balls there at the end, one flick there and we’re in trouble again.”

Annaduff wildly celebrate long awaited Smith Monumentals IFC Final victory - GALLERY (UPDATED)

After heartbreak in three previous finals, Annaduff finally tasted glory in the Smith Monumentals IFC Final on Sunday in Avant Money Pairc Sean Mac Diarmada when they held off Melvin Gaels 0-9 to 0-7 to claim the 2023 title. Observer photographer Willie Donnellan was there to catalogue the celebrations .... see who you can spot!

The tension at the end was nothing more than Conor expected: “It was tense but it was a final. Melvin Gaels were always going to have purple patches, we’re not going to have it all our own way for the whole game. To be honest, we probably did have it our own way for a lot of spells but they had their ten minutes, missed a few chances that if they had got, it would have been a tight finish.”

Coming in as underdogs also suited Annaduff: “We thoroughly deserved to win today and it probably suited us coming in as underdogs, we seem to do better when we’re written off. We knew how Melvin Gaels were going to play - they get men back. We made a few mistakes in the first half where we kicked the ball in and it was coming straight back out.

“Fair play to the boys up top, they saw that, realised it and we just played around with it for a while, sucked them out and got our scores that way and when you have the likes of Darren kicking frees, that was kind of the game plan, don’t give away frees and Darren will do the rest for us.”

Check out our Smith Monumentals IFC Final fans gallery

Fans from Annaduff and Melvin Gaels thronged into Avant Money Pairc Sean Mac Diarmada last Sunday for the Smith Monumentals IFC Final with Annaduff taking the honours on a 0-9 to 0-7 scoreline. Observer photographer Willie Donnellan was a busy man as he captured images of fans enjoying the action ... see who you can spot!

Talk of Man of the Match had Conor praising not only Darren Cox but his uncle Ray for his contribution to Annaduff’s success: “Ray has been saying he is retiring for at least ten years now but that is a mad stat that he won an Intermediate title back in 2001, and he is still doing the business. He is a freak like - I’ll be doing well to be playing in five years never mind 20!

“Darren is an unbelievable talent and he could learn a lot from Ray, he’s been around the block and knows how to do it. They’re similar kinds of players - when Ray was in his 20s, he was jinking around like Darren. Darren will be a very good player in a few years.”

With relief at finally getting over the line, Conor agreed that the disappointments of the past made Sunday’s victory all the sweeter: “It means a lot and means more that we’ve lost so many finals in the last few years. There was a lot of hurt the last few years, losing finals and semi-finals and it is great for Joe and Sean Gallagher, Kevin and Padraig - those lads put in a lot of work!”