Annaduff were crowned Leitrim Senior Football Champions for the first time in 76 years, when they overcame the spirited challenge of Gortletteragh in a close fought encounter at Pairc Sean MacDiarmada, Carrick-on-Shannon on Sunday, October 17. Manager Eugene Cox reviewed the historic occasion with John Loughran. It wasn't pretty and it won't rank as a classic but Annaduff's victory over Gortletteragh, 0-7 to 0-5 represents a momentous achievement for the south Leitrim club. As Armagh and Tyrone will testify there are no prizes for weaving pretty patterns, only for winning. Annaduff had a game plan to frustrate, dominate and squeeze the living daylights out of Gortletteragh. It was built around hunger, desire and a yearning to bring the Leitrim Senior Football crown back to the club for the first time in 76 years. Having ousted reigning champions St. Mary's in the semi-final, Annaduff were installed as slight favourites for the final. But the tag of favourites weighed lightly on their broad and courageous shoulders. "We were making Gortletteragh favourites and they were trying to do the same with us. There was a little bit of psychology going on in the run up to the game," Eugene remarked. This historic victory was a long time in the making, according to Eugene, who also coached Annaduff to win the Intermediate Championship in 2001. "Tim Shanley and Terry McGuinness managed the team before I took it over four years ago. They left me a great bunch of lads and we went on to win the Intermediate that year," he enthused. With a young, yet fast maturing team at his disposal, Eugene was confident Annaduff had the wherewithal to launch a serious assault on the Leitrim Senior Football Championship, but for the next two years his panel was ravaged by injuries. He remarked: When we won the Intermediate Championship in 2001 I felt we could win he Senior the following year. We lost six or seven key players through injury, which didn't help our cause." Last year Annaduff lost out in the Senior 'B' final to former Leitrim kingpins Sean O'Heslin's. "We were four points up going into injury time and managed to lose it. It was very disappointing, but it was a learning process for us. Because of the injuries we had to bring in a lot of lads that mightn't have otherwise got their chance. They got great experience in the 'B' championship and that stood to them this year." Along with fellow mentors Liam Faughnan, Kevin Ludlow (team captain and goalkeeper) and John Russell (who is also physio with Westmeath), Eugene looked forward to 2004 with anticipation. "We knew with the proper preparation we had a great chance of winning it because all the players were free from injury," he added. He continued: "Adrian McAnulty, Gene Cox, Gerry Newton, Gus Garvey, David McHugh, Sean Beirne, Tom McNabola and Ray Cox were all free of injury at the start of the year, which was a huge boost to the team." Lady lucky always has a part to play in any winning championship campaign. "If we were lucky it was the fact that we had an injury free panel going into the final. We were able to put out our strongest team throughout the championship. We were lucky in that respect," he opined. In the run-up to the final Eugene was quietly confident that his charges would prevail on the day, although he felt the game had the potential to go down to the wire. "I always felt there was only going to be a kick of the ball in it. I felt the team with the greatest hunger would win." He continued: "I had every faith in the lads and I felt we were good enough to win the county title. We asked the players to put in the effort and they got their just reward." In what was a low scoring game throughout Gortletteragh had the upper hand at the interval 0-2 to 0-3. "We said at half time that we would do whatever it took to win the game and we were going to battle and battle for every ball." That Annaduff outscored their opposition 0-5 to 0-2 bares testimony to their commitment in the second half. They displayed awesome commitment, work rate, guts and heart and strangled the life out of the opposition to score a narrow, but deserved victory. Annaduff had heroes all over the field. David McHugh was a deserved recipient of the 'man of the match' award, although several of his Annaduff team mates ran him close. McHugh shone in a halfback line that was the launching pad for this historic victory. They snuffed out the Gortletteragh threat in attack and frequently foraged deep in their opponents defence. David Duignan was brilliant in that respect. Ronan McCormack and Brendan Guckian worked tirelessly at midfield and covered practically every blade of grass at Pairc Sean Mac Diarmada. Annaduff had heroes too in Gene Cox and Gus Garvey. Tom McNabola accounted for five of their points, while Ray Cox weighed in with two priceless scores on an afternoon when scores were at a premium. At the final whistle there was an explosion of joy and emotion from Annaduff's players, mentors and fanatical supporters. It was as if a huge burden had been lifted from their shoulders. They had finally achieved their Holy Grail. With that weight of expectancy finally released, Eugene believes Annaduff can go on to retain the Leitrim Senior Football Championship. "There are eight or nine teams capable of winning the championship. There is only a kick of the ball between any of them," he predicted. "We will be going out to defend our title. The team that beats us (if any) will go on to win the title. The average age of the team is around 25. These guys have the determination to go on and win it again," Eugene added. He concluded: "We have the ability to play a better brand of football, than we did in the county final. The conditions weren't to our advantage. It wasn't pretty and it wasn't spectacular, but the victory was all that mattered at the final whistle." Eugene is a director of E.D.A. Cox Construction, based in Clonfour, Rooskey, Co. Roscommon, a construction company he runs with his nephews Dermot and Adrian who also bought a well known GAA pub in Dromad which is now called Cox's Steak House. Eugene, Dermott, and Aidan had been active in the construction industry for any years before they decided to merge their interests in 1997 to form E.D.A. Cox Construction in 1997. The company is currently building a 35-bedroom nursing home in Rooskey, 60 houses in Termonbarry, and a number of houses in Dromod, Co. Leitrim. The company employs a staff of 90 people including specialist sub-contractors. Tweet

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