Gallagher thrilled to make up for past disappointments

Senan Gallagher had endured enough heartache at minor to know to cherish the moment as Kildare were crowned U20 Leinster Champions following a terrific win over Louth at Parnell Park.

He was on the pitch as Kildare conceded two late goals against Dublin in a Leinster semi-final and then again last year when Offaly struck late at the same stage.

It made it all the sweeter to get over the line.

“We had two heartbreaks in Leinster semi-finals. In the first one against Dublin, we were up by five but we know what happened there, same with Offaly last year. After we beat Meath last week we really wanted to go for it. It’s a great bunch of lads, the 06s and the same again with the 07s and we just want to keep going from here,” said Gallagher, whose father Shaun was a League of Ireland soccer player with Derry City and Drogheda Utd before settling in Kildare.

Coming into the game, Kildare were under no illusions about how good Louth were and the levels they would have to reach in order to win.

“We knew coming into the game that Louth would be good because they were unbeaten all year so we knew it would be a test. We were down on the breaks against Meath so we said we’d try to get that up. We came out gunning but they got a good run on us then and then in the last five minutes before half we started to play football again,” said the corner back.

As a defender, he had a great view of the damage that the likes of Ronan Kelly and Jimmy Lynch were causing at the far end and he credits marking those kind of players on a regular basis in training for helping develop him as a player.

“It’s great in training to be working with marking the likes of Ronan and Lynch. Every day we’re getting better from playing against players like that,” said Gallagher.

Kildare’s mental strength under pressure in the final stages of the game were impressive but Gallagher said that’s just expected in the modern game.

“That’s something in the new game. You’re going to have to hold on to the ball and then once you get the ball then it’s just a matter of getting it over the bar. They are going to come back down then and try answer back and you can see there tonight that teams have goalkeepers who can score from 55 metres out. We just wanted to hold on to the ball and play our own game,” he said.

One of four St Laurence’s players in the squad, Gallagher was thrilled with the support the team received from all over the county.

“We had great support here from the club and all over the county, I had boys coming up to me from the other end of the county to say well done. There’s just a great buzz here,” he said.

It means an All-Ireland semi-final against Cavan in Kingspan Breffni next Wednesday and Gallagher isn’t worried in the slightest about the quick turnaround.

“Seven days? Grand, we’ve done that before, we’ve done six (days). Let’s get at it,” he said.

A tenacious attitude from a tenacious defender.