Benson’s boys stand and deliver

Actions speak louder than words. That overriding message from Brian Benson in the aftermath of this year’s drawn intermediate championship final was heeded well by his Crossmolina players who returned to MacHale Park on Saturday and laid claim to the James Sweeney Cup with victory over Moy Davitts at the second time of asking.

But it wasn’t just the second time of asking; Moy Davitts had beaten Benson’s boys in the group stages of championship this year and last, so there was a monkey to rid from their back.

“Not being arrogant, but we felt we had probably played better in the games, but we couldn’t beat them. We said the only way we could prove to ourselves we were better was to beat them on the scoreboard,” the Deel Rovers boss told the Western People following his side’s 1-13 to 0-12 winning of a replay that only came about because Crossmolina had let slip a four points lead in stoppage time the previous Sunday.

“We were disappointed, there’s no getting away from that, but straight away in the huddle afterwards we remained positive. We felt we were the better team on the day and we just regrouped on the Monday morning and that was the message we transmitted to the group, just get back on the horse and go again.” 

You wondered, however, if that warning about never giving a good team a second chance was going to bite Crossmolina when their opponents raced into a 0-5 to 0-1 lead during the first quarter of Saturday’s replay.

“They flew out of the blocks and all we wanted was for the boys to settle into it, get a score, hold onto the ball and take the sting out of it. And in fairness, that’s what they did,” explained Brian Benson.

“We’ve a lot of young lads, we started seven or eight under-21s, so I’m sure [Moy Davitts’] message was to go straight at us. And they did, they were outstanding in the first 10 or 15 minutes, but as the game went on we grew into it.” 

The secret to Crossmolina’s success, believes Benson, is the shared responsibility in the squad and not relying on the ability alone of county senior footballers Conor Loftus and Jordan Flynn which, he suggested, may have been an issue previously. When Flynn departed Saturday’s game for a period in the second-half due a black card, his team was two points behind. When Flynn returned to the pitch, his team had already drawn level.

“Over the past two or three years, the group felt that when Conor and Jordan came back from Mayo they’d step up and bring us to wherever, but their roles are very specific. It’s win your battle and that’s it, there’s nothing outside of that. When he went off, the rest of the boys stood up for that 10 minutes and it was an incredible turnaround. And then to get Jordan back in for the last 10 minutes, it gave us a huge lift, I thought the roof of the stand would come down when he came in.” 

Benson continued: “I was lucky enough to be part of some incredible days, winning a couple of county titles, and then we had the barren spell, we were hanging onto senior for a long time. But going back four or five years, we stripped it back, went back to basics, just galvanised a group of players and focused on changing the culture and getting into the gym, and its reaping rewards now. It’s a long journey but it’s worth it here now.”