Mohill have won nothing yet stresses captain Shane Quinn
After a heart-stopping injury time victory over Fenagh in the Connacht Gold Leitrim SFC semi-finals, Mohill captain Shane Quinn attributed his side’s passage to the final to “pure character” but was quick to stress that the defending champions had won nothing yet.
Mohill booked their place in the final for the fifth year in a row thanks to a marvellous last minute point from Domhnaill Flynn and Shane was obviously delighted: “We just won that on character. Pure character. That's what champions are made of. Hopefully in two weeks' time we'll be celebrating again, But there's nothing won yet.”
Mohill face a final clash with Ballinamore Sean O'Heslins next Sunday, a repeat of the 2021 decider, and a chance to make history as the first Mohill team to ever lift the cup two years in a row.
Quinn is looking forward to the clash which will be held in Ballinamore’s home pitch due to construction works continuing on Park Sean Mac Diarmada. The field hasn’t hosted the championship final since the 1960s but Shane is delighted to play on O’Heslin’s home patch: “It's like a carpet. It's perfect. You couldn't ask for a better field. I'd like it if it was a bit wider. It's an awfully long pitch. It plays narrow, but It's in perfect condition.”
For Shane and his teammates, appearing in a fifth final in a row and ninth since 2013, the new venue is a nice novelty and will be a good experience, for the fans, and players alike: “It makes for a more entertaining game probably because the crowd is that bit closer.”
The setting is where the novelty ends for Quinn and his Mohill team mates as they have an abundance of experience in finals in their squad - some good and some bad: “We know what it takes to win, and we know what it takes to lose. I think I've played in eight county finals now and I've won four and lost four.
“There's no point in saying I know exactly the formula to win because I've lost as many as I've won. We're really excited going into it,” he added.
The last time these sides met in a championship final Ballinamore came out on top, and though Mohill are going into the match as champions, Quinn has no illusions about the challenge that this Ballinamore team represents and the battle that is ahead of them.
“Ballinamore has improved significantly. They have serious players; Wayne McKeown, Paul Honeyman, Paul & Shane Moran, I know Dean McGovern is out injured at the moment.
“They're phenomenal players. Even some of the players that mightn't be household names, Liam Ferguson, all these lads, Paddy Connaughton, they have a savage team.”
Mohill have looked impressive in the championship so far with high scoring wins over Dromahair, Gortletteragh, and Glencar Manorhamilton - not to mention edging out an impressive Fenagh team in a dogfight of a semi-final though Quinn feels that they have another gear in them that they are yet to reach.
Even looking back at their semi-final win, he doesn't feel it was their best performance, but there are positives: ”At the end of the day, we showed character. We showed why this is our fifth county final in a row,. We haven't performed as well as we can all championship.
“We're just waiting for that ten out of ten, nine out of ten game. You can't be waiting all the time. You have to make it happen. So now for the final, we'll be well prepared.”
Though he understands that this final is a chance for his team to make history by becoming the first Ballinamore team to retain the title he doesn't want to put too much stock in that, “Back-to-back doesn't mean anything. It's all about winning on the day. It's only a game of football. That's what we'll be looking at,” he said.