‘It's what we wanted for a long time and we finally got it back’

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When Crosserlough won the county championship in 2020, Peter Smith, then just 20, came on as a sub in the final as the ‘Lough saw off Kingscourt Stars in a replay.

Four years on, Smith was the captain and was joined on the starting team by his brothers James and Kieran. In the intervening years, Crosserlough had failed to return to the big day so to do so and then get the win was a sweet feeling for the midfielder.

“It's what we wanted for a long time and we finally got it back,” said Smith after the match.

“It was tough, it was horrible out there but it's brilliant at the end of the day too. We loved every minute of it.

“It was a dog fight from start to finish. It wasn't a great spectacle but we don't care. It was a war of attrition really. Ramor were always there or thereabouts.”

Crosserlough struck for two goals in the second half, the first going all the way to the net from a long, wind-assisted delivery from the outstanding Conor Rehill.

“A couple of goals from long balls in, the wind caught one of them and brought it in. It was the greatest goal I’ve seen in Breffni Park! I’ll take that!” Peter joked.

“We trained hard, we lost Paddy Lynch too. I brought Paddy up to lift the cup with me because Paddy deserved that too. He would have been a key man for us there today. Hopefully he gets back now. Another three weeks will make a difference to him.”

Peter explained how that – bringing injured county star Lynch up on the podium to accept the Oliver Plunkett Cup with him – came about.

“A couple of weeks ago, a few pints in us, we were talking rubbish really. I said it to him so I said I’d stick by my word. Paddy is a massive player for us, he didn’t kick any ball this year but it meant he felt a part of it.

“He deserves it, at the end of the day he’s probably the best footballer in the county.”

The wind, as he said, probably ruined the match as a spectacle. It was difficult to play, Peter explained, and was blowing crossfield.

“The wind didn’t really benefit Ramor in the first half either because it wasn’t coming directly down the field, it was kind of going to the corners and it changed, it was very deceiving. Our plan in the first half was dig deep – dig deep, work hard and we did that.

“It was very hard to get the ball up the field. When you’re up the field, the wind is pushing you back down the field. We got over the line anyway, sometimes game plans like that don’t work but it worked today for us so we’re happy with that.”

Crosserlough showed they could cope with tough conditions in the semi-final when they ground out a win against Cavan Gaels on a very windy evening. They have trained on a heavy training field of late too so they were well primed.

Smith paid tribute to the entire panel on their contribution to the success.

“In Kilnaleck the last few weeks there, it was a soft, heavy pitch and that’s what football this time of year is about, it’s heavy ground. The panel we have is great and everyone is pushing it on. The lads who came on there are very close to being starting and they are pushing everybody on.

“We are still missing a few boys who are away and who stepped away for this year, hopefully they’re back next year to drive it on again. There are a few young lads coming on next year too and that will add to it again.

“Look, we’ll party hard anyway, we’ll not worry too much about next year, we’ll party hard this week and enjoy it.”

When Crosserlough were last senior champions four years ago, there was no Ulster Club SFC to look forward to. While a large cohort of the players did experience Ulster competitions at underage level, their tussle with Down kingpins Kilcoo will be their first foray into the premier club competition in the province.

“We played Ulster U16s, minor and U21s, going to Newry in three weeks’ time is a hell of a task but we have nothing to lose. They are favourites or second favourites for Ulster, then and Glen, and we’ll go, give it our best shot and see where it takes us.”

See tomorrow's print edition for eight pages of coverage of Crosserlough's SFC final success.