Colm Keys

They played off the cuff.

Maybe they had to because the game seemed to have gotten away from them.

And you're right to point out the 50th minute because Monaghan had just scored two two-pointers and you'd think that was Derry's warning sign.

Derry get a goal and you're like, grand, they'll settle down now and they'll...

see this out there's a lot of running that goes on in these games now as well though after 50 minutes you're like there's still 20 minutes here to go and three two-pointers in a row as did happen then completely changes the picture Rory Bagan just started playing outfield I mean he really just started going for it

If you think about Derry a couple of years ago and how much criticism they got for Owen Lynch wandering around the field against Donegal, Monaghan went for it and it worked and he caught out that kick-out, like the Derry kick-out was brilliant, Rory Bagan's kick-outs actually weren't great, Derry had them sussed for 50 minutes and then he just started taking over, won that ball, kicked a couple of two-pointers himself, every time Derry fouled the ball was going over the bar.

And Monaghan just played with a bit more freedom and expression.

They kicked the ball in.

If it didn't work, they tried it again.

They were happy to try and compete for the ball.

They were a fun team to watch.

And it came right down to the two points then at the end.

And Derry, it looked like they had seen it out.

Well, actually, they had seen it out.

The final whistle went and the children ran onto the pitch and we were all celebrating in the stands.

And we were told, you know, get off the pitch.

I wonder now still to this day, if there wasn't all that theatre around it, would Jack McCarron just have missed it?

The sideline, if he got to take the sideline straight away, but maybe it still would have lent itself to that dramatic crescendo anyway, once he got to kick it.

And look, as a football man, I was like, this is unbelievable.

Like, I wish I had no skin in the game here.