Coach McGahern has absolute faith in his hard working Longford minor squad

Longford minor football manager Enda McGahern was maybe the calmest man in Glennon Brothers Pearse Park in the aftermath of his side’s dramatic win over Louth last week. 

It’s not every day a Longford team gets to a Leinster final but McGahern was certainly not getting too excited when the Leader spoke to him about this great achievement. 

What came across from the former Colmcille footballer was his absolute faith in his players.

Even when Longford were 0-6 to 0-1 down midway through the first half and Louth dominated possession he never doubted his side.

“I bet on the lads to battle back into the game. Their backs were to the wall, but they showed great character,” he explained.

“When they were behind, they kept plugging away,” he added.

McGahern accepted that Louth were given too much space in the first half.

“Louth had a lot of space in the first half. However, we cut down on that space in the second half. The lads tightened up. Our backs were tenacious and turned the screw.

“Our half-backs tightened up on their dangerous No. 12 (Cillian McQuillan). The lads worked hard to get back into contention,” he remarked.

The introduction of Luke Donnelly in the second half energised Longford greatly. Physically strong, the Colmcille lad threw himself into everything and was an effective playmaker.

“Luke had been out for seven weeks with torn ligaments. He worked hard and threw himself about,” McGahern commented.

“We have great competition in the team for places,” he commented.

He also hailed the “ice cool” Cian O’Donnell, who scored the winning point from a free.

“Cian is a class act and he stepped up to kick that great free,” he added.

When assessing the performance of his attack, McGahern accepted that there is room for improvement, with the shot selection at times being a little suspect.

“There are lots of things to improve upon,” he commented.

Longford have a clean bill of health heading into the final. McGahern also mentioned Clonguish clubman James Flynn, a panellist, who is returning from injury.

The Fr Manning Gaels clubman accepts that Longford are now in bonus territory.

Longford beat Dublin in the group stage in a memorable game in front of a large crowd in Allen Park.

Now, the task is to beat the Dubs in O’Connor Park, Tullamore, with silverware at stake.

“We are in bonus territory,” he smiled.

“Longford haven’t won the Leinster minor title since 2010 but we will give a good account of ourselves in the final,” he stated.

McGahern will bet on his players again and could well be rewarded!