IF DUBLIN WERE to defend the Sam Maguire, they were going to need big names like Diarmuid Connolly to step up.
And in this eveningโs All-Ireland SFC final replay, he did just that to dispatch a penalty that was as good as youโll see.
โโJust take a breath, put it in the corner and put it away,โ he told Marty Morrissey after the Dubsโ one-point win at Croke Park. โThatโs all it is.โ
Connolly saw Lee Keegan black-carded in a hard-fought championship decider, a decision from the referee that brought to an end the pairโs epic rivalry for another season. And the Dublin talisman was quick to praise Mayoโs efforts.
โAfter the replay there was still nothing in this game, absolutely nothing,โ he said.
โThey had the free at the end to draw it again, there was really nothing in it and thatโs credit to them. Itโs a credit to how good and well put together this Mayo side is. Commiserations to them, they put an absolutely massive fight together there for two games. We barely snuck it by just one point, thatโs how close it was.โ
He continued: โWeโre not here to prove a point. Every game as it comes and every year as it comes. We werenโt going to defend this Sam Maguire, we were going to attack it and win it. I said that two months ago and thatโs what we went after. โ
Iโd say everyone will get the Ballyragget one right
Follow Buff Egan and youโd have gotten the full 10
My first 10 of 2017 Iโd say and just in the nick of time!! If only the weekly quizzes were all GAA questions!!
โWhere would you find county intermediate champions St. Patrickโs Ballyragget?โ
Oooh. Thatโs just baiting us for sarcastic answers.
An easy 10. Five or six of them are straightforward geography questions anyway, even if you knew nothing about GAA.