Kilmacud Crokes’ All-Ireland club title is tarnished, insists Conor Glass, after they “broke the rules” in their win over his Glen side.
Crokes had 16 players on the field for the last passage of play in January’s club final as Glen sought a match-winning goal and a replay was eventually ordered after an objection from the Derry champions.
But with talk of a counter-objection being prepared and the saga likely to rumble on further, Glen withdrew from the process, with Kilmacud declared All-Ireland champions.
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Following comments from their manager Malachy O’Rourke immediately after the game, some doubt surrounded how committed Glen were to a replay but Glass insisted that the club was entirely united behind the cause.
“I wanted the replay,” he said. “When I was on the bus on the way home I wanted the replay, 100%, and the rest of the team was like that.
“The management was like that, the whole club was like that but the more it dragged on, the more it started to fade off.
“Emmett Bradley was getting married three weeks later, boys had holidays planned so the longer it went on, the less emotional I was about it and I was happy enough to move on then.
“But 10 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours after the game, albeit I was drinking, but I wanted a replay.”
Although Kilmacud only briefly enjoyed a numerical advantage and the impact of it appeared to be negligible, Glass believes that a replay should have taken place given what was clearly set out in the GAA’s Official Guide.
“They broke the rules. The rules are there for a reason and if you break them and we’re entitled to a replay, so be it," said Glass, who has declared himself fit for Derry’s Ulster semi-final against Monaghan on Saturday.
“If they had beat us the second day we’d have accepted that as well but the rules are there for a reason.”
And while accepting that had they won a rematch that the All-Ireland medal would be devalued, he says that that is the case with Kilmacud’s victory in any event.
“Well it’s tarnished now. There’s an asterisk over it either way. So if we had won it, we would have accepted it but it would have been tarnished.
“There would have been an asterisk either way. There’s an asterisk over it now and there’d be an asterisk over it if we had won (the replay),” he added, while saying that “everyone was let down” by the manner in which the GAA handled the affair.
“It was emotionally taxing alright. It wasn’t ideal circumstances for both teams.
“Everyone probably thinks that we were harshly done by but the whole circumstance, Kilmacud suffered from it, we did.
“Any of the teams weren’t going to win from it. The GAA probably should have come out, whether it be 24 hours after it, and said what the result of the game’s going to be and what’s the way forward. The way it dragged on wasn’t ideal.”
As it was, Glass was back in action for Derry a few days later as they started their Division Two League campaign, which ultimately brought promotion to the top flight. But, on reflection, he feels he should have taken some time out.
“Aye, with hindsight I would. But it's not as if I was up in Derry and they were slogging me or that sort of thing. I eased back into training. Yes, I played against Limerick but I eased into the training the following couple of weeks after that.
“In hindsight, yes, two weeks probably would have been good. But hindsight is a beautiful thing, isn't it?”
And while he may have missed out on an All-Ireland already this year, he’s very much setting his sights on one with Derry, though he concedes that they need to bring more attacking penetration to their play if they are to go further than their run to the last four in 2022.
“Last year we felt that we could have gone all the way. Our offensive, attacking play probably wasn't up to the standard to really push the Kerrys or the Galways last year and that's something we've worked on.
“We felt that focusing on our defensive work last year would get us a long way in the competition. And it did.
“But there's no point in just stopping there and being happy with that. We've got to evolve with our attacking play as well.
“That's why it became a hindrance of our defensive work because we're focusing on our attacking play so much. Once we put them both together, we'll be up there."
And he’s confident that they will.
"Absolutely. I wouldn't be playing if I didn't see us getting there. The rest of the team is like that as well."
But with just three defeats in their last 21 League and Championship games, Derry’s cover has very much been blown as they continue the defence of their Ulster title against Monaghan this Saturday.
"We were under the radar last year,” Glass acknowledged. “We were underdogs for pretty much every game but the Clare game.
“We probably used that to our advantage last year too. Everyone was kind of talking about the opposition team and we could just roll on with it.
“Last year we did a heap of work on the opposition. We knew every team inside out and that was probably why we got so far.
“But a lot of the teams in Ireland will be watching us and what works for us and what doesn't work. So, I guess it's a different sort of year and a different sort of process the way we go about games now.
“But personally I feel like we're in a better position this year than we were last year. I guess the next couple of weeks will tell that."
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