Naomh Conaill's Eoin Waide devastated to lose out by a point in Ulster semi-final

When the dust settled in O'Neill's Healy Park, Omagh on Saturday night players mingled with supporters on the pitch.

Donegal champions, Naomh Conaill, had just lost out by a point to Glen Watty Grahams of Derry with a last-gasp Emmet Bradley point settling a contest that was in the melting point throughout the second half.

Naomh Conaill had enjoyed victory in the quarter-final with a last gasp goal from Kevin McGettigan to get over Gowna, but this time around the shoe was on the other foot.

"It's just devastating to lose by a point. You couldn't get a worse way to lose really. It was looking as if it was going to extra-time there. I suppose time was up and I don't know who scored it at the end, but he knew he had to pull the trigger.

"But fair play to him, he put it over the bar," said Eoin Waide, as he was the last man leaving Healy Park on Saturday night.

The Davy Brennan-based side had recovered from a very poor opening period and a penalty won by AJ Gallagher and converted by John O'Malley early in the second half put them ahead for the only time in the game.

But from there to the finish it was just point for point and it really looked like extra-time would be needed when Gallagher went forward again to fist over a Leo McLoone lobbed ball with just 30 seconds left of the three minutes indicated.

"We didn't really perform (in the first half). The first 20 minutes we were really flat. We talked about that at half-time, to go out and give it everything. There was no point in losing and not trying.

"And in fairness to the boys, everyone gave it everything they had in the second half and just came up a bit short against a great team," said Waide.

But when Emmet Bradley hit what proved to be the winner with the last play, it seemed cruel on Naomh Conaill, with the game seemingly destined for extra-time. But Eoin Waide was philosophical about it.

"Ah well, you get what you deserve in the end. We missed a few but I suppose they missed a few too. Look, they're a great team. It's sickening in a way to be hit with a score like that at the end, but you can ask Gowna about it two weeks ago. When it's the last kick of the game you have no chance to get up there and level it again. I don't even know what the time was there.

"They knew they had to take a shot there and fair play to him, he fairly pinged it anyway."

Waide, who has been the first off the bench for Martin Regan's men in recent games,  was in from the start on Saturday because of an injury to Jason Campbell.

"I had a fair idea at training on Wednesday night. Jason injured his hand or broke a bond in the hand. The boys were  telling me and I had a fair idea that I was going to be playing."

He was given the task of tailing Ciaran McFaul.  "We were watching back videos and he is a dangerman, he carried the ball through the middle late. So I was tasked with picking him up but sure somebody has to do them jobs.

"We were happy enough going in at half-time, 5-3 I think it was and we didn't perform at all. Then we rattled off three in-a-row and it got us back into it."

But when the second half started it was clear that Naomh Conaill were a different team. "You're right. It's been like that for a good bit of the year, going through Donegal. We haven't really been starting well there, for whatever reason. I think the final was the only game we played well (in first half) in the whole year.

"It was a bit like repeating itself there tonight. The first half wasn't great and then throwing the kitchen sink at it. You have to die with the boots on, so to speak."

"We were very confident going into this game. Between bookies and a lot of others, we were being written off. I think it was four and a half to one against us. It was crazy for a 50-50 game and us being champions of Donegal.

"We know (Glen) are a great team and they are Ulster champions but we knew we were going to give them a good game and we were very confident we could beat them. I suppose on the scoreboard there we weren't far away, but that's football, some days you win and some days you lose," said Waide, who will now continue his rule as a mentor with the U-21 team and he hopes that some of those can come through to make the senior team even stronger in the future.