Sport

Roslea man Quigley laps up the boos from the boys in blue

Dublin 'keeper Stephen Cluxton falls over the goal-line as Fermanagh's Se&aacute;n Quigley looks on <br />Picture: Colm O'Reilly &nbsp;
Dublin 'keeper Stephen Cluxton falls over the goal-line as Fermanagh's Seán Quigley looks on
Picture: Colm O'Reilly  
Dublin 'keeper Stephen Cluxton falls over the goal-line as Fermanagh's Seán Quigley looks on
Picture: Colm O'Reilly  

THE boos from the boys in blue on Sunday were music to Seán Quigley’s ears. The Roslea Shamrocks clubman copped a lot of flak from Hill 16 after shouldering Stephen Cluxton over the line for the goal that sparked a rousing Fermanagh second half rally.  

But he answered with eight sumptuous points and the pantomime villain said afterwards that he enjoyed winding up the Dublin supporters: “I enjoyed every bit of because I am going back to Roslea tonight,” said Quigley, who finished the Championship with an individual tally of 3-36. 

“Roslea is a small rural wee village and I’ll say there was some howling coming from the Hill! When you are from Fermanagh and small places like Roslea, you have to enjoy every minute of it. It was a great experience and hopefully we’ll see it again.”

Quigley scored four points from play and four from frees, with his final effort a stunning piledriver from 50 metres: “The last one was probably the best one,” he said.

“I was fed-up at that stage, so I just drove my boot through it and hoped for the best. We came up to play Dublin, the best team in the country and we gave it a go. We didn’t park the bus, we came up with a gameplan and we stuck with it. 

“It was the same gameplan as we had against Queen’s in the first McKenna Cup game and we stuck to it the whole year. We made the most of it, it was a great experience and we were beaten by a better team. We are just looking forward to next year now.”

The first Fermanagh goal brought the biggest cheer of the day at Croke Park. Dublin goalkeeper Cluxton had the ball in his hands when Quigley shouldered him over the line. 

Confusion reigned before referee Pádraig O’Sullivan erroneously ordered his umpire to signal a goal – Fermanagh manager Pete McGrath joked afterwards he thought Quigley was about to wave the green flag himself. 

“I honestly don’t know what happened,” said Quigley.

“Whatever way he fell, he ended up in the back of the net. It’s not like him to do that, but there was a bit of a divot in the goal and, whatever way he tripped over, he went into the net.”

Another bizarre goal followed when Cluxton and Michael Fitzsimons somehow both managed to miss a clearance and the ball broke to Tomás Corrigan: “It was strange,” said Quigley.

“I think Dublin got a wee bit complacent there and it’s something they’ll have to look into. Because when they play maybe Kerry, Mayo or Donegal and give them chances, they’ll never get them back. 

“It was a good day for Fermanagh football, it hasn’t been in a place like this for years and years so it’s brilliant. At the start of every year, if you’ve never won an Ulster title, your goal is to win an Ulster title no matter what. No matter how weak, no matter how strong you are. 

“Donegal’s and Monaghan’s goal at the start of the year is to win an Ulster title and there’s no reason why we’re any different.”

Quigley had a special word of praise for Fermanagh manager McGrath, who has guided the team to two appearance at Croke Park this year.

“Pete has come from teams where he’s used to winning and won all his life,” he said.

“Coming down to a team like Fermanagh where self-belief was at a minimum at the start of the year, he has really given us belief and that’s the main thing. 

“He’s turned us into an honest team and given us a gameplan and we’ve worked to it. Belief is ultimately the massive thing.”