‘Let’s put a bit of pride back in Mayo football’

EDDIE Conroy calls it as he sees it, regardless of the circumstances.

Though ‘delighted’ to have gotten over the line, he'd rather not have done so in such circumstances.

“I’m delighted for the community because what they’ve gone through, what these lads have gone through in the last couple of weeks, it’s a credit to them,” he began.

“I can’t describe that game because I don’t think…I think it’s unfair no matter who lost there today. I think penalties is not Gaelic games… [there should be] a replay for justice on the two teams.”

For a long time, Lahardane never looked like winning.

There was much that Eddie Conroy could have said at half-time. But, in fact, not much needed to be said.

“I’d say for us you can’t be that bad again in the first half. Let’s be honest,” said the former Mayo junior and current Mayo masters footballer.

“I think the lads new a half-time when we went in. There was no need to shout, we kind of put the question out, ‘does anyone think we played well?’ Anybody I was looking at said ‘no’ and we stood up. Hopefully we’ve learned from the bad start that we’d be able to drive on in the next game and we don’t start as poor.”

With Kilmeena and Ballina falling valiantly, Lahardane alone are left to carry the Mayo flag into the provincial finals.

Conroy had strong words for those who would mistake their confidence for cockiness.

“Let’s put a bit of pride back in Mayo football. Them Galway lads were there, I heard there your man from the Intermediate’s talking rubbish about Mayo that we’re ‘cocky’. We’re not cocky. We don’t have to be cocky,” said the Charlestown native.

“We’re from Mayo and we’re proud of being Mayo people. There’s no cocky Mayo people in it. So lookit, we’re here, we’re in a Connacht final and we’ll look forward to it.”

They certainly will.