PETER LOUGHRAN rolled back the years with a vintage display of midfield graft as Tyrone turned over Galway for a first ever All-Ireland Masters title last Sunday.
The Errigal Ciarán man, a Sam Maguire Cup-winner in 2003, picked up the man of the match award at Drumlish, even though he didn’t enter the action until the latter stages of the first-half. He turned the battle for possession in the Red Hands’ favour, setting up waves of attacks which saw them come from three points behind to win by three.
“I just did what I like to do, get into the middle of it and get stuck in,” Loughran said.
“There was a lot of turnover ball, a lot of hitting, a lot of hard work. But that just comes down to the want, wanting to win the dirty ball and getting into the sheuch and getting it, as the man says.”
In his debut season in the over-40s series, Loughran has tasted success at the first attempt. But it took management duo Eugene Bradley and Joe Leonard 22 and 25-years respectively to finally get their hands on the silverware.
“They deserve this more than anybody. They’re there every night and they’re making phone calls and texts, organising gear and organising everything for us," he said.
“To be honest, they’re the same as management of every other team, but these boys here have been going a lot longer with less rewards and they’re well entitled to this victory.”
A 1-9 to 0-9 defeat of holders Galway was Tyrone’s first success in their fifth appearance in a Masters final. Loughran hailed the dedication of the old hands who have extended or revived their playing careers in pursuit of the joy of soldiering together and representing their county.
“It’s a fantastic effort. On a Wednesday night at training, you have 25 or 30 lads out there pushing hard, very hard, and it’s been well worth it," he added.
“They have all worked very hard and this has been their end goal from the start of the year. It’s a great bunch of lads. I missed the semi-final, I was away on a mid-term break with the kids, but I can tell you, I was keeping up to date with it and delighted to get an opportunity to come in and hopefully make a difference.”
It took Tyrone more than half an hour to get into their stride. After scoring just twice in the first-half, they trailed by 0-6 to 0-3 10 minutes after the restart, but stepped up the intensity in dramatic fashion, going ahead with a Stephen Dooher goal. And their superior fitness carried them through in a dominant finish, halting the Tribes men’s drive for a fourth successive title.
“I think Galway played it at their pace. They are masters at the Masters, they have been there a lot longer than Tyrone and they sort of controlled the game, the pace," Loughran said.
“But once we came to terms with it and knew that we had the fitness to keep it going, we were able to drive on and dictate the game ourselves, as opposed to them dictating the game on us. Up front, the two Marks [Donnelly and Darcy] and Stevie Lawn were fantastic, but there was also a lot of driving from the half-back line and Gavan McElroy at full-back was absolutely fantastic, I thought.
“Gerard McWilliams, when he came in, contributed massively to winning ball around midfield. It was a big team effort, but definitely some classy forwards there, such as Damien Gormley, who has played at the top level and knows what it’s about.”
Loughran added his voice to calls for the GAA to restore official status to a competition which is not recognised by Croke Park: “This is a great platform and it amuses me how the GAA hasn’t embraced it the way that they should do," he said.
“The players that have put so much into their clubs and into their football throughout Ireland, for them to be let down once they turn 40, when they want to keep it going a bit longer, is disappointing."
