By Matthew Wilson
St Eunan’s star Kevin Kealy was ecstatic at the full-time whistle on Saturday evening as his side claimed the Munster Cup in dramatic fashion against Setanta.
Extra-time was required at O’Donnell Park at the weekend to determine who would be this year’s senior champions and leading by two as we entered the closing stages, it looked like Setanta were going to reclaim their crown.
However, a stoppage time goal from Fearghal Delaney swung the tie in St Eunan’s favour and they went on to triumph by the narrowest of margins.
Speaking after the match, Kealy was still in shock at the drama that had unfolded at the Letterkenny venue.
“It’s very hard to describe it. That’s what hurling is all about, it was just mental.
“They’d a mad moment at the end of normal time and we had the same at the end of extra-time. I can’t even put it into words, I’m just so happy.”
The O’Donnell Park outfit made a flying start to this encounter and with the aid of the elements in Act One, they led by nine points at the short whistle.
This advantage was stretched to 11 at the start of second half but it was to be their last bit of scoring in normal time as the men from the Cross hit 1-8 without reply to draw level and send us to extra-time.
But the Letterkenny side showed great character to regroup at full-time and get back to top gear in extra-time which Kealy felt they’d the capability of doing.
“Definitely, we knew with the calibre of players on the Setanta team, they’ve been around the block, and if you told us this morning that it’d be a draw at the end of full-time then we’d have taken it.
“I really felt that we had the fitness levels to do it and I think we deserved it.”
This is Chris McAuley’s second term in charge of the Letterkenny club and it’s been a successful one, adding a championship triumph to their league success earlier in the year.
Captain Conor O’Grady spoke highly of the Antrim native in his winning speech, displaying the impact that he’s had since his arrival at O’Donnell Park.
These words were echoed by Kealy who praised the commitment that he’s showed to the group over the last two years.
“He brings huge experience from Antrim and he has a few Donegal links. You hear of managers coming in from other counties but it didn’t ever feel like that.
“He was up and down the road at least three times a week and he really became a part of the club. It’s obviously made a huge difference because the last two years have been insane.”