'Dream stuff' was how Enda Smith described Roscommon's come-from-behind Connacht football title at the expense of Galway.
The Boyle man, who made his championship debut 13 years ago against Mayo, has seen many highs and lows in Roscommon colours, but provincial success on home turf in front of a frenzied crowd will take some stopping.
Smith, an All-Star three years ago, is in many ways the heartbeat of an attack that is garnering serious attention.
Captain Diarmuid Murtagh remains the talisman, yet the supporting cast is formidable. Darragh Heneghan is himself in All-Star form in his first season at senior level and full-forward Colm Neary has now posed questions that both Mayo and Galway have been unable to answer. The proof of the pudding is that Daire Cregg is now tasked with attempting to get himself back on the starting XV.
Rapid-fire first-half goals from the Heneghan cousins, Rob and the aforementioned Darragh, whittled down an early Galway advantage, yet it seemed that repeating the trick in the second period - when the Tribe kicked on - was just beyond Mark Dowds’ side.
Damien Comer’s goal pushed the lead to six, but inch-by-inch the Rossies fought back. Substitutes Paul Carey and Cregg raised orange flags, with goalkeeper Conor Carroll booting over a 45. Murtagh, after Comer was penalised for slowing down a Roscommon break, split the posts for another two-pointer to edge ahead, before he put the icing on the cake with the final score of the game.
Smith, a constant bustling presence at centre-forward, says belief on the pitch never wavered.
"It’s hard to put into words," he told RTÉ Sport. "That last six, seven minutes was unbelievable. It was hard to put your finger on (it).
"The momentum turned. Once we got that two-pointer from Daire, it really set the tone. The finish was just brilliant.
"Down the stretch we were really strong. I never felt like we were out of the game. Maybe people looking on might have felt it, but the players didn’t. We were well drilled. It was dream stuff at the end."
Much of the pre-match talk centered on Cregg (pictured above), with the gifted forward expected by many to be a late change to Dowd’s team after missing the win over Mayo through suspension, but was held in reserve until the 47th minute. His two-pointer shifted the momentum of the contest and he finished with 0-03.
Shane Cunnane and Cian McKeon both made telling contributions despite coming on with less than 10 minutes to play.
"The bench impact was massive," he said. "Shane Cunnane around the middle was really strong, Cian McKeon won a massive turnover on the sideline which led to Diarmuid’s two-pointer and Daire’s two-pointer gave us that belief and got the crowd with us again."
The occasion was a further illustration of the wonderful debut campaign being enjoyed by electric wing-forward Heneghan.
Smith has as many Connacht medals (three) as Heneghan has championship appearances, the Michael Glaveys man repeatedly scorching through the Galway defence.
He picked off 2-02, had a hand in cousin’s Rob’s first-half goal to bring the team back into it and he had the opponents often chasing shadows. A goal-line clearance from Cillian McDaid prevented him bagging a Connacht final hat-trick and Smith says the timing of his contributions was key.
"Darragh is extremely fast, as everyone knows now. His runs for the goals in the first half settled us. I wouldn’t say Galway were pulling away, but they were in a good position and the goals really got us back into the game, and we got them at the right time."
Heneghan, the standout player on a famous day for the primrose and blue, appreciates the crest of a wave Roscommon football is on.
Never before have the minors, Under-20s and seniors enjoyed a clean provincial sweep.
Tyrone are next to come to the Hyde in the All-Ireland series, but it’s perhaps as much time for reflection as looking ahead.
"An absolutely epic two weeks for Roscommon football," Heneghan said in the aftermath. "The minors last week. The 20s before that. Even the minor girls. Now to top it off today… it can’t get much better than this."
