It’s the third Sunday in September. It’s 2003.
It’s the 68th minute and there are three points separating Tyrone from Armagh.
The Red Hand county have led from the start of the game but their northern rivals have been here before. If they sense a weakness, they will pounce. Maybe Tyrone will shake.
Mickey Harte’s men have scrambled three bodies around Tony McEntee but if anyone has the strength to hold them off, it’s the imposing number 15 in an orange jersey. They’ve left the wrong man free and McEntee pops it out to an unmarked Steven McDonnell inside the penalty box.
You couldn’t have wished for a better man to get his hands on the ball in a better position. Surely. Surely.
Surely nothing. Conor Gormley has other ideas.
The only surprising thing is that they still haven’t erected a statue of that block in Tyrone.
If Gormley doesn’t get across there, McDonnell scores – simple as that. Armagh draw level and they potentially force a replay where they won’t allow themselves to be reduced to 14 men the next day.
Tyrone maybe don’t win the 2003 All-Ireland, the county’s first ever. Armagh win a second and maybe they have the Indian sign over the Red Hands and that impacts on the 2005 semi-final which Tyrone won before doubling their tally.
Ifs, buts, and maybes. Conor Gormley didn’t leave anything to chance. He didn’t leave anything in the tank.
And, despite being the victim of what was probably the game’s most iconic block, Steven McDonnell doesn’t look back in regret. If anything, he looks back in appreciation of a player rising above himself and giving every last drop and inch to win an All-Ireland.
Steven McDonnell looks back with respect and admiration at the pure beauty of sport.
“Absolutely no nightmares,” the Armagh legend explained in a fascinating segment on SportsJOE’s GAA Hour football show.
“If it had went in… If I had seen Conor Gormley, I would’ve checked inside him.
“Do you know what, I would applaud Conor Gormley for that because I think it’s moments like that in games that teams deserve to win an All-Ireland, if a player is prepared to put his body on the line like that.
“It was a fantastic block. I certainly don’t have any nightmares. You move on from chances that you miss, especially as a forward. You can miss chances and you can take a lot of chances but, at the end of the day, you go out and try to rectify it the next time.
“It might’ve blazed wide, it might’ve gone over the bar, I don’t know. Conor Gormley didn’t really give me a chance to find out. Really and truly, he came out of nowhere.
“You have to hand it to Conor: he put his body on the line in a defining moment in an All-Ireland final and it got them across the line.”
Listen to McDonnell’s full thoughts on that famous moment below (from 43:30). Or subscribe here on iTunes.
