Captain Eoin Gill promises ​Annaduff will savour Smith Monumentals Intermediate Final victory

Annaduff may be reasonably used to winning Smith Monumentals IFC titles, after all last Sunday’s win over Dromahair was their second in four campaigns, but captain Eoin Gill is urging his teammates to celebrate their success because much bigger challenges await!

“I will go out tonight, have a few drinks and the Monday club tomorrow and just take it all in and enjoy it,” said Eoin when asked by the Observer what his immediate plans were, adding “Because you don't win finals too often. We're going up to senior next year for a massive jump. I was in here at the Senior game last week, Fenagh and Ballinamore, and the strength and conditioning of those lads, we have so much work to do to try and catch up with them.

“We're going to just try and work hard over the off-season and see where it brings us and, from what I'm hearing, there's 10-plus minors coming through. We have a bit more training to do now, we'll probably just relax this week, then next week, sit down and have a chat and see what we want to do and drive it on. We’re playing the Sligo champions, we'll try to overturn them and get to a Connacht final, try to put Leitrim football a bit more on the map.”

Getting over Dromahair was no easy task and Eoin was on to his teammates ahead of the final not to underestimate them or listen to loose talk: “We're delighted to get over the line today. First half, very shaky, I'd say. The nerves in the first half, five minutes into the second half, we settled in and we got a few scores and drove on from there. I was warning the lads all week, don't be looking at your phones, reading stuff or listening to people. I was saying, just keep it out of your ears - Dromahair are a serious outfit, very well organised and we just got lucky there in the second half, got that goal and it kind of gave us the momentum to drive on.”

Annaduff never relaxed with Eoin pointing to the new rules and the influence of managers Ray Tubman and Philip Charles for keeping everyone track: “Since the new rules came in, you can have a five-point swing, a goal and a two-pointer, with two kicks to the game. We just had to keep our heads in the game, just keep tipping it on.

“Our management this year, Ray Tubman and Philip Charles, kept us focussed on what we had to do. We had a poor league campaign but we learned a lot from our mistakes so if they score a goal like they did, the message was not to worry about and just keep going and I don't think they scored for 15 minutes after the goal.”Not one to take plaudits for his own performance that saw him land two vital points just after halftime when Dromahair were threatening to take control of the contest, Eoin played down his contribution: “I got two lucky points and got a ball into Darren then for the goal and I think from then on, we kind of drove on and just kept roaring at the lads to keep it here and drive home.”

Eoin had one other task to consider before the game, contemplating what he might say when accepting the Frank Reynolds Cup but, typical of him, he got the job done quickly before concentrating on the game: “I didn't even think of the speech, I got it done, put it away and then I didn't even pass a heed on it. Then when the final whistle went, I was kind of worried about reading it then but, look, it all worked out and it was grand.”

What the victory will mean for Annaduff was plain to see in Pairc Sean after the game according to their captain: “It's massive. Look at the families here, the community. It's just incredible seeing families, friends, neighbours, everyone here. People came to see me from all over the country, cousins came to watch here today. So it's a massive, massive occasion. I'm very proud to have captained Annadiff today. My family, everything, I'm just over the moon how this all worked out for us today.”