Longford IFC Final: Delighted Ballymahon boss Alan Hudson full of praise for his players

There must be something about years ending in 2. In 2002, he was part of the Ballymahon team that won the Longford Senior Championship.

This time, he managed his club to win their first Intermediate title since 1998.

The way he saw the game, his side stuck to their gameplan and that was what won the final.

“We stuck to our gameplan and it worked. There is always pressure coming into a final. But we were quietly confident,” he stated.

The nature of the win, in the end, was a last ditch goal from Thomas Mulvihill, one of two he scored on the day.

Hudson credits his teams never say die attitude for creating that opportunity to win the title.

“I never felt that the game was gone from us. Just like Fr Manning Gaels, we have a never say die attitude. We had both proven that. But, in the end, the game could have went either way,” he explained.

“Thomas Mulvihill was brilliant for us today. Our subs also played a big part, both Declan (McGuinness) and Kyle (Fitzmaurice). Declan gave a pass for the third goal,” he added.

Ballymahon had a huge mix of age groups on the field, ranging from 44-year old Trevor Smullen to five or six 18 year olds.

One of the latter group stood out. Jack Walsh scored 1-4 and his manager speaks highly of him.

“Jack is a fantastic footballer. He is a superstar of the future. Jack spoke at half-time and he held the lads captivated. He spoke like a lad that has been around for 20 years.

“Paddy Christie (new Longford senior manager) could be looking at him soon,” Hudson commented.

“Darragh Finlass is another superstar in the making, another 18 year-old,” he added.

Hudson was also full of praise for the older group in his team. “Trevor has incredible fitness. Mark Connor is another positive influence to have. The management have gone to these lads for advice and they are always positive,” he stated.

“Emmet Finn and James Kenny are two other players who have been positive, you saw James there today, the leg hanging off him,” he added.

John Nevin put in another serious hour of football from midfield. “John has a huge engine. Fitness is very important to him. We had other lads there on the bench, there were arguments for starting them,” he stated.

Alan is already looking ahead to a game in Leinster. “I think we have the Louth champions. We will keep the celebrations compact and we intend to focus on that game,” he commented.

Never a man to rest on his laurels.