Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Just as Glen looked like a boxer on the ropes, up stepped their talisman Conor Glass with a massive blow in the 57th minute to help Watty Grahams get over last year’s All-Ireland final heartbreak and secure a historic 2-10 to 1-12 win over Roscommon’s St Brigid’s in a windswept Croke Park.
It was Glen's first-ever All-Ireland club football title, and it could hardly have been sealed in more dramatic fashion.
Glen spent much of the game trailing Brigid's, and it looked as though it was going to be a second consecutive year of Croke Park heartbreak for the Derry club.
Conor Glass bowled over by emotion as Glen crowned All-Ireland champions
#GAABEO 58 nóim @WattyGrahamsGAA 2-08@StBrigidsRos 1-11
Báite san eangach ag Conor Glass! 😍👀
What a finish to the net by Conor Glass and the teams are level!
BEO/LIVE AR @TG4TV 📺#GAA @GAA_BEO pic.twitter.com/9HskbHF5lV— Spórt TG4 (@SportTG4) January 21, 2024
Former AFL star Glass put in a man-of-the-match performance, and dragged Glen back from the brink in the closing stages. When the Derry star riffled his shot from the 21-yard line into the back of the net, it felt inevitable that Glen would push on to victory.
Scór Lán-Ama@WattyGrahamsGAA 2-10@StBrigidsRos 1-12
'' We definitely don't make it easy...'
Comhghairdeas le Conor Glass, Laoch na hImeartha agus é tuilte go maith aige.👏 @GAA_BEO #GAABEO pic.twitter.com/ZQP8IjTnhU— Spórt TG4 (@SportTG4) January 21, 2024
Speaking after the match to TG4, an ecstatic Glass was full of praise for his Glen teammates, especially after last year's defeat to Kilmacud Crokes.
“You only have to look behind you to see what it means to this group of people. We definitely don’t make it easy now, but this team have shown character all year, and there is no better way to show it than on the All-Ireland final day,” Glass said.
“It's been a tough year after the Kilmacud loss, but we’re the best team in Ireland now,
“We were a man down for the last ten minutes. Danny Tallon got a massive turnover before the goal. We cherish those small things as teammates, and they have our backs
After the final whistle, Ciaran McFaul and I just cried. As I said, it has been a stressful twelve months, but we will cherish this moment now and lift the cup.”
The Derry All-Star was also full of praise for manager Malachy O’Rourke - but insisted that their triumph was for the people of Glen and not just for players and managers.
“Malachy is a special coach. He is a special man. This was never about him. This was for the community of Glen; Malachy was here to do a job, and what a job he has done.”
SEE ALSO: O'Loughlin Gaels Fuming With 'Ghost Goal' In All-Ireland Final Defeat
