Bonus territory as Breen struggles to get his head around dramatic victory

Struggling to get his head around exactly how Ballinamore Sean O’Heslins snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, Brian Breen pointed to the resilience and never say die spirit of his players after an exhilarating and dramatic CurrentAccount.ie LGFA All-Ireland IFC Club Semi-Final victory last Saturday.

Not a man normally lost for words, Brian admitted he would struggle to explain just what happened in Pairc Sheain Ui Eslin: “I can’t explain it to you right now, I need to get my head around it but the one thing that they did was never give up and that’s the one thing they showed.

“To be fair, to be 100% honest, we might say that we were playing second fiddle for a lot of the game and that’s the reality of it but we always left ourselves in with a chance for that to happen.”

Shock the only way for Abbi to describe Ballinamore's dramatic victory

Keeping themselves alive meant that Barney had a bit of belief that Ballinamore could pull it out of the fire: “When they went two points up, I thought that might be it - doubt comes into your head but we had that belief, in our heart that we could come out with it and that makes a difference.

“If you’re in it with a minute to go, it can happen but how it happened was unbelievable, spectacular - the girls, the press that they put on was amazing. Two weeks ago, we went up to the Ulster Final and Steelstown did the same thing but they were defending a four point lead there so they could afford it.

“That’s a very dangerous thing to do when you’re defending a one point lead and it took 30 seconds for the girls to actually push up on them and when they did and when they went back to the goalkeeper, I always felt there was a chance of a turnover then. 

“No disrespect to any goalkeeper but under the bit of pressure, it can happen. The best girl was on the end of the move and I’m delighted for them really.”

Lightning strikes twice as Ballinamore strike late to snatch tip to Croke Park for All-Ireland Final

BALLINAMORE SEAN O'HESLINS 1-10 STEELSTOWN BRIAN OGS 1-8

Their experience in overcoming Eoghan Rua in the Connacht Final also stood to them Barney believes: “We focus a lot on a good start and we focus on that, talk about that and that we can’t rely on a second half performance. We were lucky in the Connacht Final that we were only two down, we should have been more. 

“Today they had a good few wides, we could have been more down but we always felt, and we said it, that the longer we can keep ourselves in the game, we’re capable of having a finish like that because they have that self-belief in themselves that it can be done.”

The performance of Roisin McHugh and the return of Laura O’Dowd made a big difference according to the manager: “Roisin is a key player for us - maybe Laura coming back took a bit of pressure off her. In the Connacht Final, she did really well but Laura coming back meant they had to focus on more than her today.”

For Barney, a member of the victorious Connacht Championship winning team of 1994, perhaps he now occupies a very special place in Leitrim GAA history as both playing and managing a team in Croke Park but it is not something that he wants to dwell upon: “That’s great but it is not about me. I said to them, it was important to win today because of the prize. 

“Winning an All-Ireland Final is another thing but getting to an All-Ireland Final is a memory they’ll have for life.  Thirty years or whatever later, playing in Croke Park is a memory I still hold and cherish and they’ll have that and that is the most important thing for them. We’ll focus on winning it during the week and next week but they deserve this, they really deserve it.”

A goal was the only thing on Aoibheann’s mind

Ballinamore Sean O'Heslins forward scores winning goal with last kick of All-Ireland Semi-Final

Preparing for the final was already on his mind but Breen was anxious that his players would enjoy the occasion as well: “We’re going to enjoy it, that’s number one. We’re not going to be putting ourselves under massive pressure, we’re not going to be fearing going there. When I say this, it is synonymous with Leitrim teams, to fail at that hurdle there today - how many times have we said a Leitrim team doesn’t have the belief. Listen, we’re in bonus territory, we’re going to enjoy the day up there and then who knows what will happen!”