What do I say asked Aughnasheelin's Man of the Match Aaron Hoare

His initial reaction to being asked for a few quick words with the Observer were “What do I say now?” But just as he had on the field last Sunday, Aaron Hoare rose to the occasion to express his delight at Aughnasheelin’s victory in the Smith Monumentals IFC Final, writes John Connolly.

“Absolutely delighted, the lads put in an absolutely tremendous performance,” said Aaron before revealing some of the inner fire that drove this Aughnasheelin team. “All year we were doubted, doubted, doubted and we came through on top today. It was a tough, tough battle, Annaduff weren’t that easily beaten, they were probably our toughest game all year. 

Aughnasheelin celebrate third Intermediate Championship success in style - GALLERY

There were wild scenes of joy in Avant Money Pairc Sean Mac Diarmada as Aughnasheelin won their third Smith Monumentals Intermediate Championship title after a hard fought 0-11 to 1-4 victory over Annaduff. Observer photographer Willie Donnellan was there to capture the scenes of celebrations ... see who you can spot!

“We struggled against Drumshanbo and it was a bit of a knock back but we came back, we beat Bornacoola, beat Kiltubrid and Annaduff there today. I am delighted for the lads, they put in a serious shift, Lads coming down from college, lads coming down from work in Dublin, Galway, Limerick just to make training and it is an absolute credit to them.”

Conditions were tough and testing Aaron agreed: “To be fair, the pitch was in good condition all year, the semi-finals and quarter finals, it was in immaculate condition. There was a game on before, it was a bit slippy but we knew coming into the game with the rain all week, the pitch was going to be slippy. 

“It was heavy on the legs and substitutions were maybe made a bit earlier than normal but we got the job done and I’m delighted for the lads who came on.”

Aughnasheelin show class down the stretch to claim Intermediate title

AUGHNASHEELIN 0-11 ANNADUFF 1-4

As for his man of the match, Aaron preferred to focus on his teammates: “Yeah, it is nice but at the end of the day, it is a team sport and without the rest of the team around me, I wasn’t able to do the things I was able to do.”

Aaron also paid tribute to Aughnasheelin’s supporters and set his sights on the Connacht Club campaign: “Just delighted for everyone, the supporters - they were an absolute credit to the club. It will be nice to celebrate for a while but it would be good to give Connacht a crack. Lads will travel back for training, get onto a mucky pitch and drive on, see how far we can get.”