Decision making key to Mohill's victory as Padraig Tighe thought Final was headed for a draw

Describing himself as ‘over the moon’, Padraig Tighe highlighted Mohill’s decision making as key to their victory over St Mary’s Kiltoghert in last Sunday’s Connacht Gold Leitrim SFC Final, writes John Connolly.

“We’re just over the moon to get the win, the last two years hurt,” said Padraig after the game, “The second half, we were two, three points down and you were thinking ‘Jesus Christ, it is not us again’ but we dug deep, we got there in the end. The boys rose to the occasion - they controlled the first half, they got through a good few times easily in the first half. I think James Mitchell got one and I saved the other two.”

Downplaying his part in those vital saves, Padraig was just delighted that he contributed to Mohill’s victory: “Look, when I’m called upon, hopefully I can make the save and make life easier for the boys out on the pitch. I was just glad to make the saves and contribute to the team.”

Mohill stop St Mary's two in a row bid to reclaim Fenagh Cup with superb second half display

MOHILL 2-10 ST MARY'S KILTOGHERT 0-14

The long serving keeper admitted that he thought the game was heading for a draw: “I was worried but we always kept getting ahead. I thought it was going to end up in a draw to be honest with you but we kept the ball for two or three minutes and Chick got a great score there. 

“We got the next ball, Keith Beirne made a great run and Chick gave a lovely pass to him and that was it then. They had to get a goal and we knew we were going to defend. The goal chances they had in the first half, they weren’t going to get another because we tightened up in the second half.”

The resilience to keep coming back meant that even a host of wides didn’t deter Mohill, a key difference in the last two finals against Ballinamore and St Mary’s: “I think we controlled most of the second half, we just didn’t have our shooting boots on. Chick got the goal, a poacher’s goal, and it drove us on. 

“We didn’t panic whereas last year, we were five points up, they crept up and we panicked. In the semi-final, Fenagh got a good run on us but we didn’t panic, we just regrouped. Once we got that first score of the second half, we knew we were still in the game. Carrick kept us in the game for too long and we came back. 

“If you look back to the last two finals, we were leading coming into the last five, ten minutes and we let it slip. This year, we’ve good grit, good determination to see out these games - there’s not many teams that beat us. We were unbeaten in the championship, we lost three games in the league by a point but there was no team hammering us. Our decision making earlier in the year, we worked hard on it and we got the just rewards there in the end.”

Mohill celebrate wildly as they regain the Connacht Gold Leitrim SFC title after epic battle with St Mary's Kiltoghert - GALLERY

Mohill celebrations were long and loud in Avant Money Pairc Sean Mac Diarmada as the four in a row Connacht Gold Leitrim SFC finalists got their hands back on the Fenagh Cup after an epic 2-10 to 0-14 victory over defending champions St Mary's Kiltoghert on Sunday. Observer photographer Willie Donnellan was a busy man with the camera chronicling the celebrations ..... see who you can spot here!

Padraig may be one of the oldest players in the Mohill squad  but he doesn’t show any inclination to hang up the boots just yet! “I’m probably the oldest lad playing out there, I felt it the last couple of weeks but these young lads keep driving me on and that’s why I keep playing, days like this. 

“When you’re in a team that is getting to finals, it is easy to come back year on year. We’ll enjoy the celebrations, come back training next week and hopefully give Connacht a good run. There is something there to be done for a Leitrim team. 

“Carrick did exceptionally well there last year so hopefully we can go one step further this year.”