Leinster club IFC | Kelly “Immensely proud” of his Hunterstown players

Hunterstown Rovers’ Leinster journey came to a dramatic end as they fell to a 4-16 to 4-12 semi-final defeat to Tubberclair at Stabannon this afternoon. Joint manager Sean Kelly's first instinct after the final whistle was not frustration, but pride.

He said: “I'm very proud of the way our lads came back. To be fair, coming into the game, I thought they had more better players possibly than we had.

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“And during the course of the game, they looked like a better team than we did. But we stuck at it, put them under pressure, and as a result, certain things folded.

“And one thing I've seen for the last two years is, and we said if we're in with a chance in the last ten minutes, we'll go for it. And to be fair, they did.

“And the way the ball broke for us just in the end, but I'm immensely proud of their response in difficult situations. I think we were six or seven points down at one stage. And kept ahead, kept sticking ahead.

“Not everything was going our way, but we really, in the end, I thought we could possibly win it. Yeah, and I’m just immensely proud.”

At halftime, Rovers held a two-point cushion, but Kelly acknowledged it wasn’t enough, especially given the quality the opposition showed.

“Ah yeah, I know to be fair, but going into it, we were worried about them. Because we saw how many potential threats they had. And we knew that.

“So to be honest, it was the second half, early on, we were fine. And then they got the goal, and then they got a second goal. Or third goal, that would have worked out.

“And it looked like damage limitation at that stage. But we kept ahead, we kept trying. And the breaks, then we got them.”

If the first hour of football was gripping, the final ten minutes were chaos. Goals, turnovers, momentum swings—this was knockout football in all its unfiltered madness, and Kelly knew it.

“Ah, yeah, well, two teams went at it. That's the way we play as well. I have no qualms with the results. I would feel they were the slightly better team.

“But really proud of the way we stood in the game. And I'll be honest, when you got the third goal there, I thought there was only one team going to win it. It was just the next kick-out; we didn't win it. And they got it.”

As the curtain closes on a season that pushed Hunterstown into new territory, the conversation naturally shifts toward what comes next, senior championship football in 2026.

“I'd say the team is an up-and-coming team. If you look at the U21, they'll be strong in that. There's five of these players that didn't play yet in that. And that means there's a young squad coming.

“Look, there's four teams in my view in Louth ahead of everyone. And I would see Hunterstown being in the pack. When you're a team coming up, one of the key things is you try and solidify yourself.

“That's what we try to do in the league this year. And that's the thing in the club, you have to build your weight and hope the right things come your way. I think the club is in a good place.”