Attacking ace Conor O’Neill paid back the Ballinderry management and squad for their support by kicking three points in Saturday’s AIB Ulster IFC final win over Arva.
It was O’Neill’s first start since a torn hamstring against Banagher in the Derry semi-final, an issue lingering from a group game against the same opponents.
O’Neill got the nod on Thursday night he’d be getting a first starting in five outings for last weekend’s showdown.
His pace gave Arva problems with his direct running giving the Shamrocks another attacking avenue.
“I think back to the amount of support my team-mates and management gave me when I was injured,” O’Neill said.
“They were constantly coming up and checking up on me.
“They are giving you words of encouragement. It does drive you on because you need that.”
O’Neill’s three second-half points were vital in half that saw the score level five times as play ebbed and flowed.
He describes it as a “hectic” game to play. He was both delighted and shocked with Shea McCann’s goal cancelling out Arva’s second goal three minutes earlier.
“I couldn’t believe he actually went for a goal,” said O’Neill, involved in the build-up.
“Then, I looked up and was in the net, it was deadly.
“When Darren (Lawn) kicked that last score, I thought that made it a draw. I was up and down the field and didn’t even have time to look up at the scoreboard.”
It summed up the exciting nature of a memorable evening.
Even when the final whistle sounded, it was the pitch invasion that totally convinced O’Neill his side had pulled off a dramatic win.
“I’ve never felt that before,” he said.
“This is the first time I’ve been on the pitch, part of a team, that has won anything. It’s amazing, it feels really good.”
Watching O’Neill on Saturday, he fully belongs. His performance was central to Ballinderry rounding off 2024 as champions of Ulster.
It was a lot different to last season. A relegation play-off defeat sent them to intermediate football.
Thankfully for Ballinderry, the players gritted their teeth when at their lowest ebb.
“We just had to take a look at ourselves,” O’Neill said.
Setting out their stall for the new season, they were at a crossroads. Aim high or settle for where they found themselves.
“We pulled together and set our sights on getting promoted,” he said.
Once their Derry quarter-final win secured a path back to senior football, as part of the CCC’s restructure, it was time to log into a gameby-game approach to a path towards the going as deep into the championship as possible.
There was the added boost of the younger players taking on roles of leaders.
“They’ve brought such a high standard,” O’Neill said.
“I don’t even know how to describe it.
“Their own standards that they brought to this group is crazy, for all the age of them. The blend from the older boys and the younger boys, it’s brilliant.”
Another ingredient is getting pride back in the Ballinderry jersey. O’Neill references Steelstown winning the All-Ireland.
Championship experience can’t be underestimated. The same can be said for Cullyhanna’s run last season.
“It’ll bring this group on massively,” he said of Saturday’s win over Arva.
“We haven’t got that much championship experience. I’m playing now five years and I haven’t got a whole pile of big championship games under my belt.
“Even for the younger lads watching, it’s brought a bit of pride back to going to a Ballinderry championship game and cheering them on, it’s great.”
