Donnelly hails Martin impact

Tyrone manager Gerard Donnelly singled Diarmuid Martin out for special praise after his late point secured a dramatic All-Ireland MFC final victory over Kerry.

Scorer of 0-3, Martin proved an unlikely hero after he replaced the West Ham-bound Joel Kerr in the starting line-up at Newbridge. Despite being named to start, Kerr wasn’t given permission to play by the Hammers after his professional contract came into effect on July 1.

“That lad has put in the same work as all the rest of them boys. He picked up a couple of knocks as the year went on, but he was just coming to the boil nicely,” a delighted Donnelly told TG4.

“I said to him 'Diarmuid this is going to be your day'. My god, was it!

“We knew from the very start that this was going to be problematic, we knew July 1st was going to be his cutoff date. We have absolutely no problems with West Ham, they have financial investment in the kid.

“What a lad, but it isn't just unbelievable that Diarmuid Martin who came in for him, got the winning point to win Joel his All-Ireland medal. I'm just delighted for him.”