'Cross' were that bit special, that's the way sport goes' - Garrycastle boss

Anthony Cunningham's tenure as Garrycastle manager came to an end with a crushing defeat in last Saturday's All-Ireland club final replay against Crossmaglen Rangers. However, even that couldn't detract from the marvellous success the Galway man has enjoyed during his time at the helm. He guided Garrycastle to the Westmeath football title in each of his three years in charge and, last December, the green and red side became the first club from the Lake County to win a Leinster senior crown. The Garrycastle dressing room was empty apart from a couple of gear bags when a few hacks caught up with Cunningham in the aftermath of last weekend's one-sided replay. "Anything they (Crossmaglen) touched was brilliance and we found it hard to get going, particularly early on. But we can have no complaints, we couldn't complain about our team or their performance whatsoever. Crossmaglen were that bit special today, and that's the way sport goes," said Cunningham philosophically. The Galway man was understandably proud of his record with Garrycastle and with the efforts of the players, pointing out that they only lost three big championship matches during his time in charge - a Leinster final (to Portlaoise), a Leinster semi-final (v Kilmacud Crokes) and last Saturday's All-Ireland final replay. Garrycastle did also lose a group game to Mullingar Shamrocks in the 2010 Westmeath SFC (before going on to reverse that result in the county final), but it would have taken a particularly finicky pedant to point that out in Breffni Park last Saturday. "But it isn't about me or Aidan (Dunning). It's about the players, they've been fantastic," continued Cunningham. "It's just disappointing for the supporters and the players today that they didn't get just reward for how close they were the last day and probably how deserving they were of winning the last day. But we were punished severely by Crossmaglen today." He agreed that Gary Dolan's well-taken goal early in the second half did provide a glimmer of hope. "We started the second half well and I thought we'd kick on from there. We got a few chances and a few points. I suppose if we'd started the match like that, you'd say we'd have been closer. But they kicked back with some very good scores. Their pace was one thing that caught us a bit today. But we've no complaints, we couldn't have," he remarked. Crossmaglen's second goal meant the gradient facing his side was too steep, Cunningham acknowledged. "We've seen Crossmaglen for years; when they get a goal, they'll go for the second one. But having said that, it's nobody's fault. Everyone fought very hard. It just wasn't a good day at the office. "We have to congratulate the Garrycastle players for what they have done for all the clubs in Westmeath and for other counties that are looking on. They really have become a top club (in this campaign) and they deserve the credit for that," he said. During his time in football management, Cunningham has won five county titles (three in Westmeath with Garrycastle and two in Roscommon with St Brigid's), in addition to guiding both clubs to their first provincial crowns. He also led Galway's U21 hurlers to an All-Ireland title last year. There is surely more to come for the Kiltoom resident. For the rest of this season, his sole focus will be on trying to solve the enigma of Galway's search for hurling success at senior level. McEntee thanks Garrycastle for firing his players up Before the throw-in last Saturday, a scuffle broke out over the taking of the customary team photographs. The chief cause of the problem was Crossmaglen's decision not to take their seats (on the bench provided) for the pre-match photograph when they took to the field. When the Garrycastle players emerged from the dressing-rooms, they found the bench occupied by Crossmaglen and trouble, predictably enough, ensued until order was restored. Crossmaglen manager Tony McEntee's take on the pre-match incidents was quite divergent from most observers. He claimed the actions of the Garrycastle players fired his players up before the throw-in. McEntee said the pre-match scuffles played right into his team's hands. "I think to be fair I'd maybe thank Garrycastle for that, for the actions at the start of the match simply revved our boys up that wee bit more," he told the BBC. "We did what we are good at eventually and we found that bit of tempo that we're fit to play at and, after half an hour's good football, the game was nearly in the bag at that stage. "We had a hard two weeks but the main thing was working on mistakes from the last day and trying to correct them and to try and build it up to the intensity of football that we can play at. And we did do that," added McEntee.