“I don’t know how Melvin Gaels beat us there to be honest” - Allen Gaels James Flynn
Smith Monumentals IFC Final reaction: Allen Gaels manager promises Drumshanbo club will rise again after disappointment of last gasp defeat against Melvin Gaels
Finding words to describe what Allen Gaels suffered in the dying minutes of Sunday’s Smith Monumentals IFC Final must have been next to impossible but manager James Flynn summed up the feelings of everyone with Drumshanbo in their hearts when he said “I don't know how Melvin Gaels beat us there to be honest.”
Going into the final minute, Allen Gaels led the Kinlough men 2-10 to 0-8 and saw a goal chance brilliantly saved by Man of the Match Kevin McGloin before Melvin Gaels plundered three goals to snatch an improbable, almost impossible 3-8 to 2-10 victory in Ballinamore’s Pairc Sheain Ui Eslin.
For Flynn, coming to terms with the defeat was difficult, telling the Observer “It's hard to ... people say they're speechless, but when that final whistle blew, the first time in my life I was speechless because I don't know how Melvin Gaels beat us there to be honest.”
Always one to look at his own team first, James felt that Allen Gaels didn’t make the game safe late on: “We pushed on really well in the second half, at the end of the game we still had a couple of chances to take the score.
“Even though it was 10 points, we still said we needed the next point and we didn't get it. That's what cost us in the end. We came here today to play football. We played some really good football at times. Not everyone came to play football. They played football for five minutes and got three goals.”
Initially reluctant to discuss the matter, James also queried where the five minutes added time came from and questioned some of referee’s Eamonn Dolan’s decisions: “We’d have big question marks as to where all the time came from. Time was up there and he said no, still more minutes.”
Referencing a few challenges on his players and an incident involving the fourth official after the end of the game, James said “I wouldn't like to see my team doing them anyway, put it that way. Thankfully, I wouldn't like to be standing over my club doing that. I'm proud of my boys. I think everyone watching the game sees that Alan Gaels are great footballers. They're young lads, they are more experienced lads.”
James also promised that Allen Gaels would be back, that they have no choice but to come back: “People say you have to lose a final to win a final and look at Melvin Gaels who lost it last year, they've won it today. Annaduff lost the one before and won it. These boys just don't have an option.
“They'll have to go again. We all know these boys, especially the younger lads, they've been through worse. They'll come back again and they'll go again.”