Longford SFC Final: Robbie Smyth and Cian Brady hoping to go one step further

Cian Brady: ‘It is brilliant to be back into another county final after a six-year absence but we never looked further ahead than the next game and there were some big battles this year and the semi-final against Killoe was no different but we worked brilliantly as a unit and that made a big difference. 

“We always had the confidence in the group to get over the line, and we did that, but in terms of getting back to another county decider, it is where we want to be and now, we are there we are really looking forward to it.”

The last time Abbeylara won the Connolly Cup back in 2006, Cian and Robbie were watching as fans that day and Robbie remembers that successful occasion vividly.

“It was so inspiring to see your own parish being crowned county champions and I had my hair sprayed in the colours that day, and it took me a week to wash them out. I will not have my hair sprayed on Sunday, but fingers crossed that we will be celebrating a winning final.”

Against Rathcline in the quarter-finals, Abbeylara missed several goal chances and registered fourteen wides, and although they missed some goal chances in the semi-final, that was down to brilliant goalkeeping and excellent defending from Killoe rather than poor shooting and the vastly improved scoring ratio produced just five wides. 

Robbie acknowledged that they stepped up to the plate big time against the reigning champions.

“It was something that we really focused on since the Rathcline game and we concentrated on fine tuning our shot selection and finishing which was really poor against Rathcline. We were much better against Killoe and that is down to the work we put in. Hopefully, we can rattle the net a few times against Colmcille on Sunday. 

“They have been impressive, winning four group games, losing to Killoe and then those two knockout wins over Clonguish and Mullinalaghta, highlight their quality, so they will be a massive challenge to overcome.”

Cian and Robbie both commented on what it means to everyone to be in the county final.

 Cian: “For the club, the parish, and for us as a panel, it is a proud day to be back in the final, but we are fully aware that the job is not done yet and Colmcille will be very tough opponents, but we are ready for what will be another big battle. 

Robbie: “It was great on the pitch the last day to see all your family, friends, the community and the small children all out on the field, it is massive for a small parish like ours to have that.’

Twelve months ago, Abbeylara were in a relegation semi-final against Ballymahon but now they are just one win away from being crowned champions, and Robbie gave huge credit to the management team.

“One hundred percent, the management team have made a huge difference. Earlier we had that discussion about where we were twelve months ago compared to now. 

“We were in Allen Park playing a relegation match against Ballymahon and after winning we took a long hard luck at ourselves and the club made a huge  effort to bring in a top-class management team and we have that in Frankie, Derek, Garvan, and Kevin. 

Those guys are born winners and they have brought that mentality to our group,” concluded Smyth.