Munchies beaten but unbowed

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Damien Donohoe

Munterconnaught manager Stephen McGovern cut a reflective but immensely proud figure as he spoke after his side’s Ulster Junior Football Championship semi-final defeat. The final margin was harsh, he felt, on a group that had emptied the tank on the biggest day of their season, only to be overwhelmed in the final quarter by a side he described simply as “a far better team on the day.”

“I suppose the scoreline doesn't really reflect the effort we put in,” McGovern said.

“We were in the game right up until the last quarter, but then they just blitzed us.”

Before analysing anything, he was keen to offer full credit to the opposition.

“Look, I’ll start off again by saying well done to Owen and Benny (Lennon). I said it to the players after the game, I wished them well in the final. They were a far better team. With these new rules, the best team generally comes to the top and that happened today. No, hands up, they were better.”

For over 40 minutes, Munterconnaught had matched them stride for stride, digging in defensively, frustrating shooters, and keeping the contest on their terms. But the final 15 minutes brought a surge they simply couldn’t live with.

“For 42 or 43 minutes we punched away a little bit, but they absolutely went to town on us there for about 15 or 20 minutes and deserved it,” he admitted.

“I’d like to see them win the final.”

The opening 30 minutes the Cavan champions were well structured and patient. Their opponents were repeatedly forced to shoot from distance, often from well outside the scoring zone.

“They were shooting from outside the scoring zone, defensively we were really good in the first half,” McGovern said.

“We knew we had to play the percentages, played with two blocks, a low block, to keep shots out far or to the sides, no two-pointers, and just leave ourselves in the game.”

But even with that containment working well, he felt Munterconnaught needed to make more of their spell on top.

“As the first half went on, I felt we should have been ahead, to be honest with you,” he said. “They looked like they couldn’t get goals or two-pointers. It was 5 to 4 at half-time, but I thought we needed to be ahead.”

Seven minutes into the second half came the moment that swung the momentum back in their direction, a stunning two-pointer from Nathan De Kleer.

“Nathan kicked a great two-pointer and you’re thinking, right, we’re going to be in this,” McGovern recalled.

It put McGovern’s side one up, and for a brief spell the favourites looked rattled. But what followed was the spell that decided the semi-final.

Soon “after our two-pointer it was 7–7. If we got the next one, maybe it’s different, but they just went on,” he said. “7–7 turned into 12–7, 13–7. The game had gone away from us.”

McGovern acknowledged the sheer quality on the opposing side, singling out the influence of their star forward.

“It’s not too often you come across players like Karl Gallagher at this level, they have exceptional quality,” he said. “And it’s really all over the field. You’re trying to put out one fire, then you’re robbing Peter to pay Paul because there’s another fire somewhere else.”

Yet, despite being stretched, his own group never wavered.

“We’re a united group, we stick together, we went at it,” he said.

“We said if we give ourselves a chance and be in it, we’ll go for this.”

While the Ulster dream ends here, Munterconnaught’s story this season is far from finished, they still have a league final to come. And in the wider picture, McGovern is adamant that this campaign has been transformative.

“Winning a county final is absolutely brilliant,” he said. “To peel it back even more, getting promoted to Division 2 was huge. We fell at the last hurdle last year, but then we went and beat Kill fair and square, and that was great.”

They carried that momentum into championship football and delivered when it mattered most.

“To turn around then and go on a championship run and win a county final, brilliant,” he said. “And to back that up with a big win over the Down champions and then go on the road and win in Armagh… it says a lot about the group.”

Above all, he stressed the pride he feels in his players and management team.

“Me, Brendan, Brian, the management team, we’re just privileged to be part of that group,” he said.

“You start to build a platform for them to drive on, and that’s what they’ve done. I’m just so proud to be part of it all.”

As he summed it up simply. “It’s been an absolutely great year for the club.”

Munterconnaught will meet Denn in the ACFL Division 3 final on Saturday at 6pm in Sheelin Park, Ballymachugh.