Emotional scenes as Loftus leads Rovers to historic All-Ireland glory
Conor Loftus of Crossmolina Deel Rovers in action against Charlie Crozier of Ballinderry during Sunday's AIB GAA Football All-Ireland Intermediate Club Championship final at Croke Park. Loftus scored a last gasp penalty to secure Crossmolina a two points win. Picture: Tyler Miller/Sportsfile
Victories don’t come any more dramatic – or emotional – as what happened in Croke Park on Sunday afternoon.
Crossmolina Deel Rovers were crowned All-Ireland Club intermediate football champions when Conor Loftus drilled home a penalty in the eighth minute of stoppage time. A point would have forced extra-time but Loftus backed himself and with practically the last kick of the game, secured a 1-12 to 0-13 win for the North Mayo outfit.
The backstory, of course, is that this final against Ballinderry was originally postponed on account of the tragic passing of Conor’s fiancée Róisín Cryan whose funeral only took place last Wednesday week. The ending almost defied words.
Loftus had been an inspiration throughout, centrally involved in the first four Crossmolina points, one of which he scored. But this was a remarkable team effort, one that even saw Deel Rovers lose midfielder Darragh Syron and goalkeeper JP Mulhern to injuries during the contest.
Brian Benson’s side had played against the worst of the appalling weather conditions in the first-half so could have been quite happy to be level with Ballinderry at 0-6 apiece at half-time. And the dream seemed to be coming together nicely when third quarter points by man-of-the-match Niall Coggins, two, Lorcan Loftus, Fionan Duffy and James Maheady, helped them into a 0-1l to 0-8 lead with under 10 minutes left to play.
But the Derrymen, driven on by the excellent Ryan Bell, responded with five points in a blistering six minutes spell to lead by two entering stoppage time.
Coggins whipped a goal chance over the bar to give renewed hope to Crossmolina who fashioned a second goal chance in the fifth added minute when overturning Ballinderry defender Eoin Devlin. This time, substitute Stephen Duffy was held up by ‘keeper Ben McKinless who was sent off. Daniel McKinless, who had already come off the bench to kick two points, deputised for the ‘keeper but was powerless to prevent Conor Loftus from writing his name into folklore.
Crossmolina are the first club to win both senior and intermediate All-Ireland Club titles, an honour Ballinderry were seconds from claiming themselves.
