Shooting star Bradley vents fury at GAA
Both Derry and Kerry had already voiced their unhappiness with the venue and timing for yesterday’s decider in the run-up to the game but noses were put further out of joint by a delayed start, after the Division Three final between Wexford and Fermanagh required 20 minutes of extra time.
“It’s all very disappointing that we couldn’t get to play at Croke Park,” said the All Star forward. “It’s all very well having rugby and soccer games organised there a year in advance but it makes you wonder why the GAA couldn’t put this in the calendar as well. These are national finals.
“The pitch was great here today and the atmosphere was great but the fact the game before us went to extra-time meant we were sitting in the changing rooms for half an hour, just waiting.
“It wasn’t ideal but that’s typical GAA for shooting themselves in the foot, I suppose.”
For Derry, it was the only sour note all day and both players and supporters lingered on the pitch long after the final whistle, eager to soak up every last ounce of joy from the occasion.
Their last piece of silverware had been the league trophy back in 2000 and the prize on offer combined with the reputation of their illustrious opponents seemed to stifle them in the opening quarter.
Visions of Kerry’s destruction of Cork and Mayo in recent All-Ireland finals invaded many a mind when the Kingdom went seven points up before the Ulster side snapped out of their stupor.
“We couldn’t have done it any harder, could we?” laughed Barry McGoldrick. “Seven points down against Kerry in a national final! But we dug in and got the right result. I think it was definitely nerves. A lot of our boys have been around a long, long time and never reached a final. We had played in quarter-finals and semi-finals, that’s all. Maybe the occasion got to us.”
The extent of the comeback should sustain them through many a difficult day to come.
In the not too distant past, Derry would have crumbled on such a day. One aberration in Salthill aside, they seem to have conquered their tendency to blow hot and cold but Bradley accepts that judgement will be delayed until the championship is put to bed.
“Consistency is probably the thing that has killed us in years gone by. We have gone and beaten someone like Tyrone or Armagh and then fell flat on our faces the day after. It’s important that we take this into the championship and try to go on a run from there. The Ulster championship was our main goal at the start of the year. It’s been too long since Derry won one.
“It’s too long since we won silverware of any description, actually. The league is a nice trophy to win but, at the end of the day, it is all about the championship. We’ll turn our attention to that now.”
Donegal will be their first assignment. This time last year, Brian McIver’s side celebrated a similarly seminal league title before crumbling in the championship.
“Every year is different. Whenever we got in the final, we decided as a panel and as a management that we were going to go the whole hog for the league. The league and championship are two different things. Donegal went out and had a poor championship after winning the league last year and a lot of people blamed their run in the league. We are determined not to let that happen to us. We’ll celebrate this for a night and turn our attention to the championship on Tuesday night.”
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