Louth GAA club | “I thought we were gone” says Plunketts chairman Matthews

Oliver Plunketts lifted the Christy Bellew Cup after a tense replay victory over Glyde Rangers in the DKIT Sport Louth Junior Football Championship final at The Grove, Castlebellingham, on Saturday evening.

It is the club’s first junior title since 2014, and the fourth in history to mark a memorable occasion for all connected with the Drogheda side.

READ MORE: Louth GAA club | Keely: It just opened

At full-time, club chairman Michael Matthews reflected on the final and the courage his team showed to get over the line.

He said: “Last week we felt we threw it away, and even today, Glyde got the start that we got last week, and God, we got very hard to get back into the game.

“Glyde, they were tackling like we were tackling last week, and we missed a lot of shots too, but as Dean (Carolan) said, championships are very hard to win.

“It doesn't matter whether it's junior, intermediate or senior. A junior championship is very hard to win. I said it last March, this bunch of lads are something special.

“They've come up through the club, they never went down to pastures greener, they love the maroon and white, and today they're getting a little bit back, and I'm delighted for them.

“I'm delighted for everybody in the club, the management, Dino (Emmett Kelleher), was a fantastic player down through the years, and a fantastic manager. I'm delighted for the whole of them.”

As the game looked over, it was Stephen Keely’s late goal that proved the turning point. Matthews was full of admiration for the forward.

“What a finish. It was against the wind; he had about six or seven in front of him, and I thought we were gone at that stage, to be honest.

“I have to hand it to Glyde, I mean, and I'm being honest, I thought we were gone really, but Stephen did keep plugging away. He was the man, the fulcrum up front.

“Things didn't go right for him, but he got rewards in the end. Robbie Brodigan came into it in the second half, too. Adam Lambe, oh, the whole lot, I don't want to name names, but the whole lot were fantastic.”

Despite several wides, the Plunketts never gave up hope. “No, they never dropped. These boys are, as I said, they're out in the field three nights a week; the heads didn't drop.

“They wanted it so much and I think it was in their tummies, it was in their stomach today, wasn't it? It was just fantastic. I'm just delighted. I'm delighted for the whole club. It's going to help our juveniles and everything.”

With momentum firmly behind them heading into extra time, the Mell men took control of the game.

“Yeah, we got the momentum then, and I think everyone will agree we were the better team in extra time, by far.

“It's a great panel to have too, and I'm thrilled for Cian (Matthews). He had a new baby this year, and he came back in, and I'm delighted for him. I'm delighted for everybody. Fantastic!”

Even late in extra time, the drama wasn’t over as Glyde scored a goal to bring it back to a two-point game. Matthews admitted his nerves were tested once again.

“Oh, I thought, here we go again, here we go again, but we got the next kick out too. I had to say Luke Haggins missed a few, and his two-pointer from the halfway line.

“It was a big, big kick, and it just shows, you know, never go into yourself. You miss a few, the one is always there. All you need is the one, as Mr (Ciarán) Sheridan showed us last week.

“I'm delighted for Luke as well, brilliant, because he had missed a few, he'd missed a good few, and to get that one there was fantastic for us.”

For Matthews and his family, the victory means everything.

“It's funny, I got a stat last week, there has been a Matthews in every Championship-winning side since ‘57, including ‘57, so I'm delighted for everybody, and my brother told me he was in all the losers.”

Looking ahead, the chairman believes this triumph will inspire the underage ranks.

“We've got some fantastic underage coaches. We've won the Under-14 League Championship. We had a tough year with our under-16s, but we got to the quarter-final of the Championship. Five-games league, it's tough.

“Talking to Pat O'Brien, from Dundalk of the Sean O'Mahoneys, it's tough down there as well. You know, this is going to be great, this is going to be great for us.”