Whelan: we played some fantastic football out there
Most players and managers would either barge their way through or wait for the interview to peter out but instead the 68-year old hoists himself over the seven-foot barrier and bounds into the stand.
Whelan had just overcome a far bigger hurdle in the shape of Crossmaglen, and his exuberance and energy were there to see all afternoon, as he cajoled his team towards a sensational win.
His vocal chords sound like they’ve gone through a shredder and there is the glint of a tear in the eye as he escapes the hundredth handshake and bear-hug to give his thoughts on an emotional afternoon.
“They were excellent, weren’t they? We played some fantastic football out there. We had effort all over the field. A phenomenal group of young people. The veterans weren’t bad either.
“Vincent’s deserve that. They are a phenomenal club with kids all over the place playing football, hurling and camogie. I’m delighted for them … Marino is all decked out in blue and white. It’s great for Dublin too.”
Even with the adrenalin still pumping, Whelan’s thoughts were lucid and projected towards St Patrick’s Day. Crossmaglen found rich rewards overlapping down the left side of the Vincent’s defence and Whelan will be working assiduously to address that in the weeks to come. But that was a small quibble on a day of overflowing positives.
Whelan had said in the run up to the game that Vincent’s wouldn’t trouble themselves too much with the Cross style of play and he was as good as his word.
“The intention was to repeat what we had done against Tyrrellspass in the Leinster final,’’ he explained. ‘‘Cross like to keep the game tight and slow it down. We have goalscorers and we figured ‘let’s be brave here, stick to our own game’. We got this far playing our own game and they did that again.”
Minutes earlier, Donal Murtagh emerged from the Dublin side’s dressing room to talk about the game and the road ahead for Crossmaglen, and he was adamant they would again be gracing the big stage come the autumn.
The Cross manager had no qualms with the result and he asked Vincent’s to sooth his hurt by going on to claim the title on March 17th, offering them a cautionary warning in the process.
“I just spoke to them there now in their dressing room and I told them there was no point now thinking it was good enough to beat Cross in the semi-final, to think that was it over. They’ll have a tough match in the final. Nemo have the pedigree as well. Portlaoise was the last team that beat us in the semi-final. They thought they had it won then and they fell flat in the final.
“I told them to go on and win it and that would be something for us to hang onto as well – that the team that beat us went on to win the final.”
It is five years since Nemo Rangers claimed the last of their seven titles. One Goliath has been accounted for, but another still stands in their path.
“Nemo are a great team too,” said Whelan. “They are big and athletic and they will give us all we want. If we go out and do ourselves justice I will be happy, regardless of the result.”
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