“You make your own luck up here.”
There’s about five more seconds left to be played in the All-Ireland intermediate football final at Croke Park.
Westport have watched a six-point lead with nine minutes to go disintegrate to the minimum. One point separates the Mayo champions and St. Colmcille’s of Meath and the westerners are hanging on, shorn of their first choice ‘keeper owing to a black card.
Aaron Dunne mans the Hill 16 posts, the first bit of championship action he’s tasted all season, and the white jerseys come forward again – nothing to lose.
A lucky break sees the ball trickle out to Ciaran Kelly on the right hand side and he charges forward for what will be the final passage of the game. 25 yards become 20, 20 become 13 and the Meath man lets fly at the posts.
His angle is tight but he has the accuracy. Now, it’s in the hands of the gods.
Dunne punches clear under serious pressure and the ball just so happens to fall into the clutches of a Connacht native.
Westport don’t even need to work it out. Time is up. The referee blows his whistle for the last time. A Mayo team have won an All-Ireland at Croke Park.
Lee Keegan knows it could’ve all ended completely differently. Jesus, he’s seen it first hand more than any man.
But as he stood in the Hogan Stand next to his brother Phil, as he stood there as an All-Ireland champion, his feelings could best be described in one, simple, sweet word.
“Finally.
“Finally.”
The Footballer of the Year spoke on AIB GAA’s superb live stream of both the junior and intermediate finals.
“There’ve been a lot of long years of hurt and pain. It felt like that way again today, that we were going to lose it at the end,” Keegan admitted.
“We put a lot of work in today and if that ball had went over the bar, I’m not sure how much would’ve been left in the tank after the semi-final.
“Finally we just got one lucky break.
“The scenes here now, I’m just over the moon. It makes up for all those hard years, the long slogs, the hurt, pain, and losing All-Ireland finals here in Croke Park.
“Finally, a Mayo team has come to Croke Park and won an All-Ireland. What more can you ask for?”
There is a light at the end of the tunnel, it seems. The pain can be worth it. The hurt might lead somewhere.
Whilst Keegan was relieved, he was adamant that Westport deserved their victory and that is the simple reason why they won. The lucky break was needed but they had earned that lucky break. As he put it himself, you make your own luck in Croke Park.
He’s had too many bad days at headquarters and the mystique of Croker has been looming large over the county of Mayo in recent times.
Lee Keegan and Westport have led the way and broken the duck, if not the curse. It can be done and, to do it with club, well that’s all the more special.
“Today shows what it’s all about. The support we have here today, the man beside me – I have my brother in the squad – it’s a fairytale and it’s a dream come true.
“I’ve openly said that I was never the biggest club man when I was younger but I’ve grown into and this year has just been an absolutely amazing experience.
“It’s been the best journey of my life and it’s something that I’m going to treasure for the rest of my days.
“All-Irelands are hard won and, if you only win one, you have to enjoy that success.”
You just get the feeling that this could yet prove to be an important line in the sand for the mentality of some.
Just like he took the fight to Dublin absolutely spectacularly last September and October, he’ll be there leading the charge in 2017.
But, this time, he’ll be doing it as an All-Ireland winner.
Won the @AIB_GAA All-Ireland Intermediate Football Championship… #ThingsLeeDid#TheToughest pic.twitter.com/xniznNZPdc
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) February 19, 2017
