UPDATED: GLENSWILLY are the SFC county Champions for the first time in their history after a superb two point win over St Michael’s in the showpiece final today.
‘Saint Michael’ Murphy – man of the match by a country mile – scored 1-7 of his side’s 1-8 score in their win over the excellent Creeslough/Dunfanaghy side.
Delighted Murphy said afterwards that he was over the moon his parish had won their first ever county championship final in front of 6,000 fans at MacCumhaill Park in Ballybofey.
It was his 42nd minute goal which won it for Glenswilly – a superb second half strike worthy of a final which was much better than some of the pundits had predicted.
St Michael’s played their part in a superb occasion, fighting to the very end.
But it wasn’t to be their year. It had been a fairly even first half, the sides going in after 30 minutes with four points each.
However Glenswilly edged it in the second half despite huge performances throughout by county stars Colm McFadden and Christy Toye for St Michael’s.
The final score was 1-8 to 0-9.
Said Murphy afterwards: “It’s unreal. To win the county final is just superb. The goal was the difference. I was in the right place at the right time and I just left fly.”
Co-manager Gary McDaid said: “Michael Murphy always delivers on the big stage and he has proved it here again today.
“He is a credit to this club. After they (the county) lost to Dublin, he came back to his club that Tuesday night for training and he gave the whole place a lift again.
“They are such a special bunch of players. They have been knocked left, right and centre by the media in the past couple of weeks, but we kept all that in-house and we opened that bottle of heart there today and we’ve won it.”
He said Glenswilly had won the Championship the hard way, beating Glenties and St Eunan’s on the way.
“We are only a wee small parish nestled in between them with 300 or 400 houses. Every man pulls together. St Michael’s threw the kitchen sink at our boys today and we held out,” he added.
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