From real lows to an ‘unbelievable’ high for Lavey’s Smith

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Gerard Smith expressed a familiar sentiment when we caught up with him after the match. It was, he said, “unbelievable”.

“Some of the boys have slogged away for years with no silverware. It’s great for the older boys that they have something to show, that they have put in all those years and it wasn’t for nothing,” the Lavey man told The Anglo-Celt.

“When the goal went in and put us four up, it was just all about seeing it out. And then when the final whistle went, it was just unbelievable, especially for this group of players.

“This year, there have been some real lows and then today was a massive high. We just mentioned there after the game.

“We were in a low, low place in the league, the first round against Armagh, absolutely beat out the gate. Relegated a couple of weeks ago and to turn that around and come here today and put in a performance for 70 minutes…

“We were absolutely written off, we have been written off all year. To put in a performance like that, it’s a credit to the squad, the management. Not just the 26 who were here today but the boys who were at home and just couldn’t be here because of the circumstances.

“It’s just as much for them today. Everyone is absolutely buzzing and I’m sure the supporters at home who couldn’t be here today are buzzing as well.”

Asked where the belief had come from, Smith said: “We’ve worked so, so hard over the last couple of months and there was too much good work going in for it not to turn out well. I know results didn’t go well for us in the last two rounds of the league but there was a lot of good work being done, it just wasn’t being shown on the field.

“The manner we beat Monaghan in gave us great confidence. We got through the Antrim game and then that Down game… That was a game that Cavan football teams wouldn’t have won. To put three games like that back to back.

“We were coming in here absolutely written off, nothing to lose. The group feeling during the week was that everyone just felt there was an upset on the cards. We 100pc believed we were coming here to do a job and we did.

“And it wasn’t a smash-and-grab. We got a goal late on but I felt that we were in the game for the 70 minutes.

“We are absolutely just delighted.”

How did this game compare to others he had played?

“Any Ulster match is tough. We got a good start, that was key, but we were probably trying to clog the defence a little bit. We didn’t want to concede any goals.

“We knew that if we hung in the game for as long as we could, we’d always come good in the second half and that was the same today. I’d say a lot of boys mightn’t be able to sleep tonight after that adrenaline buzz. I’d say there’ll be tired bodies tomorrow.”