Gavin and Berry delighted with St Mary’s victory

Two days and 25 years after famously lifting the Tom Markham Cup in Croke Park, Damien Gavin was in the winners’ enclosure again in TEG Cusack Park last Saturday afternoon as joint-manager (with Ken Berry) of the St Mary’s, Rochfortbridge ladies’ football team.

Gavin was understandably delighted after the Rochfortbridge girls’ second senior county final win in succession. “We played very well. Milltown are a serious team and they played very well too. They manage to come back year after year,” he stated at the outset.

“At the end of it, there was only a kick of a ball between us and we knew before we came in to it that that was all there was going to be.

“Milltown were on top for large periods of the second half, but for the last ten minutes our girls dug deep. The dedication they showed when Ken was running them hard during lockdown - that came out in the last five/ten minutes. There’s a huge desire there and there is a big panel who keep pushing each other on.

“Milltown started very well against the wind and we were only two points up at half-time. And that’s all we deserved to be, to be honest. We hadn’t created any goal chances.

“They have a very strong half-back line and midfield and that is where many of their attacks came from. We came into more in the second half of the first half and kicked a few good scores,” he added.

The 1995 All-Ireland minor captain was full of praise for his captain last Saturday.

“It was great to have Karen McDermott back after missing the semi-final. She is a leader as well as being a brilliant footballer. But lots of girls stood up when we needed them. The older players showed great example to the younger ones,” he opined.

Gavin concluded jovially when asked about the absence of a follow-on Leinster championship: “It’s a pity, but the celebrations can start earlier now, as we don’t have to worry about anything else! It’s been a very strange year, but football coming back in the last couple of months has given everybody a lift.

“We would have had a couple of thousand people here if they were let in, but it is important that we got things back on track and that we make sure that there is another championship in the new year.”

Beside him, Ken Berry was equally pleased with the outcome. He stated: “Megan (Brick)’s goal came at a great time for us, at the start of the second half playing into the wind. It gave us a little cushion.

“Milltown came back and got to a draw game, and it was nail-biting stuff at the end. We knew Milltown would bring intensity to the game, and they are good footballers. But we stuck at it and our fitness got us over the line.

“We got our bit of luck at the end when they hit the crossbar, but those girls deserve it. Anything we asked of them during lockdown, they were prepared to do it. They did it all on their own which is hard. Overall, it was excellent game of football today,” he concluded.