BY STUART CONNOLLY
Letterkenny Rovers have been crowned as the Champions of the Brian McCormick Premier Division for the first time in over 40 years, and Stephen McConnell noted that the club is in such a healthy place right now, on and off the field.
Goals from David O’Donnell and BJ Banda in Rathmullan ensured that Rovers can’t be caught at the top of the pile, while the hunt for more silverware will go on.
“Letterkenny Rovers, Premier Division Champions. I can definitely get used to hearing that over the next while.” He started.
“We worked very hard all year to be here, and it’s always great to win a league. The boys deserve this, and hopefully there will be more big days out over the rest of the campaign.
“There are still nine players in this squad from the Division Two days, and that was my first year. We won that league three years ago this month, and after that we lifted an Area Shield, while last year was just brilliant. I’ve done alright for a bluffer, haven’t I?” He joked.
Letterkenny Rovers held a two-goal cushion for a decent portion of this encounter, but a goal in the final moments from the hosts had the potential to complicate things for Rovers and McConnell was quick to praise the opposition.
“It was far from our best performance today, and Rathmullan made it tough for us,” he said.
“I said it to Rathmullan even the last time we played them that if they played like that against everyone, they’d cause some real problems.
“They’ve scored four goals this season, and three have been against us with the other against Kildrum Tigers, who have a great defensive record so credit to them, they performed well.
“We hit the post twice, we missed a few chances and we were never comfortable, but the second goal from us kind of settled the nerves. The late goal from them forced us to sit in and we defended well.”
Stephen McConnell has a few more trophies in his sights, and it’s not just the senior team that have potential success on the horizon.
“The club is in such a good place.” He stated.
“The Saturday team are one victory away from winning their league, Saturday Division One, and they’re also in the Ulster Shield Final.
“We have the Ulster Cup Final in the fixture list, and an Area Final too. We have a big haul of trophies for the club this year, and we’ll be presented with the League Title on Friday night.
“We have two floodlit pitches side-by-side, and our facilities are top class, and it has been a brilliant few years.”
On the celebrations, McConnell said: “ I’ll have to go easy tonight (Sunday) because I’m at work in the morning. I’m 40 on Tuesday, so we’ll see how that goes. I’ll take it easy this weekend and celebrate next weekend.” He concluded.
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