DCU MANAGER PADDY Christie puts his side’s Sigerson Cup triumph down to a blend of a “bit of football and a bit of character.”
The Glasnevin outfit clinched their fifth title with a clinical display against a resilient IT Carlow who were contesting their first-ever Sigerson final on Wednesday night.
Leading by three points at the break after losing full-back Brendan McCole to the sin-bin, DCU gradually worked through the gears in the second half to land the third-level crown.
“We had three goal chances in the first half,” said Christie in offering his assessment of DCU’s performance.
“If we had converted one of them, we would have been in cruise control.”
“But because we didn’t, you were always on edge. It was only in the last 10 minutes that we pulled away and could relax.
“The black card in the first half probably set us back a little bit as well. I felt we were the better team overall but that just put us back into our shell a bit and we had to retreat, concede kick-outs and things like that.
Tonight was a mixture, a bit of football and a bit of character. You couldn’t but be delighted with them.”
DCU had influential figures all over the pitch, powering them to a seven-point win. Dublin goalkeeper Evan Comergord nailed three long-distance frees from off the ground, while Monaghan forward David Garland finished with four points.
Their defensive structure was solid throughout, while Shane Carthy produced another commanding display as a roving midfielder.
Carthy was previously involved with the Dublin senior panel, and Christie is confident that the Naomh Mearnóg clubman is due another call-up.
“I’d imagine Shane Carthy is in a very strong position to get a good run,” said the DCU boss.
“I don’t know what he’d have to do at this stage not to get a shot. He’s big and powerful and good in the air. He’s a lovely kick of the ball and in the new rules, you’re looking for a guy who can kick a ball 20 metres or longer crisply into a fella’s chest.
“That’s Shane’s game so I imagine he should get a good look in.”
Christie went on to single out DCU corner-forward Thomas Edward Donohoe for praise. He said that the Cavan man is not on the inter-county panel yet, but is hopeful that his Sigerson Cup performances will help him make the breakthrough.
“He would be sort of an unknown and he’s not even on the Cavan panel.
“That’s what this competition is about, people like him who I imagine will be in a Cavan jersey in the next three months.
“This is an opportunity for him to put himself on the map. He might have been an unknown but he won’t be unknown now.”
As for DCU’s celebration plans, Christie concluded:
I’m not sure, I don’t drink. It mightn’t be Copper Face Jacks for me but I’ll certainly spend a few hours with the lads. It’s the only time you get to talk to them because to be honest, it’s a rushed job here. The season is over very quick and you’d like to mingle a bit more.
“But I’m a good bit older than them so won’t get the chance.
“It’s lovely to win tonight but we would have liked to have got a bit of silverware in the league. We lost the league semi-final this year and the league final last year to UCC by a point.
“For next year, if any of us are involved in the management, it’s certainly something for the college to aim for.”
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