Tonra: ‘It’s been a hard road’

THAT afternoon in Ballymahon was typical of all the days Longford supporters suffered disappointment in the past.

Expectation weighing heavily with the footballers one step away from playing on a bigger stage, and one of the sport’s main powers standing in their way.

And yet, there was a different feel to that afternoon. From the first minute when Gavin Tonra dived at the feet of Paddy Bradley and made the first of five remarkable saves that day, this was finally Longford’s moment to shine. Derry were dismissed by four points, Longford were finally promoted and Tonra was a hero.

Six weeks later and the distance of time allows Tonra to laugh it off. Mickey Moran described his performance that day as freak, acknowledging he was the main difference between the sides.

“Well, some days that happens. You just dive in the right direction, the ball hits your leg. Other days, those few shots would have been in the back of the net,” he chuckles with the humility that comes with being a Longford footballer.

“The players did take great heart from the fact we were able to beat Derry in a winner-takes-all encounter. Even last year, certainly the year before, we would have faltered. But, at least, it shows this team has developed a certain amount of resilience and a spirit that is hard to break.

“That we were able to beat Derry, who showed last week they are still one of the best teams in the country, by four points, that we were able to take their chances against their highly-rated defence, that did our confidence no harm at all.

“So, it’s been a good year so far. I suppose, if you play with Longford long enough, you are bound to get one at some stage,” he laughs again. “But it has been a hard road. We have been trying to get promotion for a few years now. We have finally got it, maybe we should have got it a few years ago, it doesn’t matter anymore.”

And it certainly doesn’t matter this week. This week, after all, is championship week. The big challenge for Denis Commerton and his charges now is to transpose league form onto the harder ground, ensure that Longford supporters won’t have to trawl back to April for happy memories come the end of the year.

Eight years between the posts has made Tonra wise enough to know that Longford have a habit of entering the summer with big expectations, only to deceive through the flattery of their supporters.

“It’s the next step. Okay, we played reasonably well in the majority of our league games, but there is a world of difference between the league and the championship. We have to take the consistency we found in the league into the championship and that is no easy task.”

Each championship exit brings experts teeming from the stands. Tonra has listened to the hearsay and daft rumours left in the post-mortem for almost a decade, but knows only the team can ensure they are brought to an end.

“Even though some people think they do, nobody knows why Longford have never clicked in the championship. If I could put my finger on that, I would be a wise and perceptive man.

“Perhaps, it is a case that in the last few years, we just haven’t been good enough. A lot of people in the county have had their own theories, people saying we weren’t fit enough or we didn’t try hard enough. I don't accept that, maybe we weren’t good enough. It might be as simple as that,” says the north Longford man, whose currently a rep for a soft drinks company, C&C.

Of course, Longford supporters don’t help. A little taste of success and suddenly the great Longford team of the late 60s is invoked. Even now, Tonra hopes the deserved victory over Derry doesn’t lead some into thinking Kildare in Mullingar will be a walk-over.

“It happened with the O’Byrne Cup success a few years ago and to be honest, the players probably got a little carried away with that as well. This year, we took promotion in our stride. There was no great fuss made about it. And I think that is right because there is no getting away from the fact we are a long way from the finished article.”

For Tonra, first division football has been a long time coming but it will mean nothing if Longford are nervously awaiting the qualifier draw on Sunday evening.

Some thinking-man’s punters (if such creatures exists) are putting a few quid down on Longford to continue the shocks in football. Kildare look primed for a fall although Tonra doesn’t accept this.

“A lot of people are tipping us to cause a surprise but I don’t know where this is coming from. They have been one of the top three teams in Leinster over the past 10 years.”

“I think it might be the first time Longford have ever been involved in a live televised game, I don’t know if the All-Ireland semi-final in 68 was televised live. It is certainly the first time in the lives of any of these players.”

A big day has become even bigger.