Jonny Toye stands tall as Naomh Pádraig Uisce Chaoin pull off thrilling Ulster triumph

Big players always walk tall in times of crisis. And nobody stood taller in Muff’s team of heroes than one Jonathan Toye, the stocky man with the golden left boot.

Time and again, in their marvellous Ulster Intermediate Club football championship win over Kinawley by 2-15 to 3-9, it was Toye who split the posts to keep his team in touch.

And it was entirely fitting that it was his last minute lob that broke and led to the late winner from super sub Jamie McCauley.

This hardened warrior wears number four, but he could play anywhere and his direct surging runs had Fermanagh champions Kinawley in all sorts of bother - especially in the first half.

Speaking afterwards, an understandably emotional Toye said this was yet another great victory for Inishowen.

And he referenced his side’s great run to the All-Ireland Junior club final two years ago - where they just came up short against An Cheathrú Rua of Galway by 0-9 to 0-8 - as a big help when the pressure came on in Brewster Park.

“It was a brilliant game and when we came into Ulster two years ago, we took every opponent as the best coming to town,” he said after Sunday’s exhilarating contest. “We came to Brewster Park today and we made it very tough for ourselves in the first half.

“But on a personal level I gave away their last goal - something I would give out to boys about.

“But we dug deep and we had a few injuries, but the boys who came in stepped up and we got over the line.”

Sometimes Lady Luck plays a big hand in tight tussles.

“Look at their first goal which came when the ball came off the upright and they scored and then my last lob … sometimes to get ahead in Ulster you need that wee bit of luck to get through.

“I don’t know what happened with that last lob, but Jamie McCauley was in the right spot at the right time to slot it home.”

Asked what it meant for Muff to get this far, he said: “Two years ago, when we got to a county Junior A final, I never thought we would go all the way to an All-Ireland final.

“And maybe those few games in the Ulster and All-Ireland run two years ago stood to us out there today when we were up against it and we pulled back there at the very end.

“Look around you at our fabulous support,” he added. “We are a relatively new club and were founded in 1989.

“This means so much to the people of Muff, but also to the people of Inishowen.

“We are not just representing Donegal here today, but we are representing the people of Inishowen.

“Four Inishowen teams got to the county semi-finals this year and that is just phenomenal for Inishowen football.

“And it is just great that we as an Inishowen club are in an Ulster Intermediate semi-final and anything can happen on the day.”

They also did it without Kevin Lynch, man of the match in the county final, who was, Toye acknowledged, a massive loss.

“And wee Michael McCarron, our wing back, and Caolan Harkin is our full back so we won it without three of our starters and that is all credit to the likes of Dermot Keaveney, Fionn McClafferty and Paddy Hirrell who all came in and did well.”

Toye added that himself and Kevin Doherty are probably the two oldest outfield players.

“We are a very young team and in the county final we had eight U-21s starting for us,” he noted. “We had another U-21 coming in for us today, so the sky is the limit.”