Penalty shoot-out hero Conor McAneney was the coolest, calmest man in the Box-It Athletic Grounds on Wednesday night as the tension built to almost unbearable levels.
The Tyrone goalkeeper saved Derry’s first three spot kicks to set his side up for victory and a place in the Eirgrid U20 All-Ireland semi-final.
A gripping Ulster final finished level after extra-time, before McAneney stepped up to become the central figure in the Red Hands’ second provincial triumph in three years.
“It was a lonely walk, but you see for a goalkeeper – it’s not even that lonely when you’re walking back there, because there’s no pressure on you at all,” he said.
“All the pressure is on them boys taking the penalties.
“I had a calm approach to it, all the boys were going round saying, calm down, you’ve got this. So I was taking all that into account.”
It wasn’t the first time that the Glenelly clubman emerged as a shoot-out match-winner for his county.
He also saved the decisive kick when the Ulster MFC semi-final against Donegal went to penalties two years ago, sending his side into the decider.
“It’s something I have experienced two years ago, in the Ulster Minor Championship semi-final against Donegal.
“So I had a wee bit of mental prep that way.”
The Tyrone ‘keeper, fully aware of the finish-on-the-day protocol for Wednesday night’s final, was well prepared for the prospect of penalty drama.
🏆 Watch Conor McAneney's three penalty saves and Noah Grimes' winning spot kick.
— Tyrone GAA (@TyroneGAALive) May 1, 2024
📸 Footage from TG4 Sport pic.twitter.com/Co2uZT6Soa
“Every Saturday we always practice penalties. A few of us boys, Gavin Potter, Callan Kelly, we throw down a lock of balls, hit a few pens, many be fifteen or twenty penalties every Saturday morning.”
McAneney hailed the efforts of his team-mates in getting themselves back in contention after falling four points behind in extra-time.
“It’s all well and good, making those saves, but it’s all about the fifteen lads out there, plus the other seven who came on to bring it to that point, so that I could make those saves.
“So full credit to all the other boys, it’s not just me.”
Tyrone’s never-say-die ethos helped them turn the game back in their favour, with Ruairi McHugh coming off the bench to grab a vital late goal, before another substitute, Conor Owens, sent over the equaliser.
“We just never give up. Paul (Devlin), our manager, he just preaches that to us, to never give up.
“Even when we were four points down, in our heads we’re thinking it’s nil-nil.
“Derry were up big-time for that game. In the first half I thought Derry were by far the better team, but we came good in the end.”
With another Ulster title secured, it’s on to the All-Ireland semi-final, against the winners of this weekend’s Connacht final between Galway and Roscommon.
“We’ll just have to get ourselves prepped for that, see who they are and get ourselves ready for it.
“It’s brilliant. Our aim at the start of the year was just to win an Ulster title.
“We’ll take it from there, but we always knew Derry were really strong opposition, and they proved that again.
“We played them in the group stage earlier and we only beat them by a point, and they took it full the way to the wire again.”
