The great American writer Ernest Hemingway coined a famous phrase called ‘grace under pressure’ as his salute to courage and character in the face of adversity.

And while Erne Gaels embodied this noble adage on the field that most gracious of managers from Enniskillen Gaels, Simon Bradley showed real class and courage in the face of bitter defeat.

It must have been a long lonely walk for him to come from a dressing room of dejection to the press box to talk to the press.

In 37 years of covering GAA, I can’t recall a similar act of courage. It would have been very easy for him to lick his deep wounds in private and he was making no excuses for his side’s defeat.

Instead, he gave a very candid, honest reflection on what was a very painful night for him and his team.

“We had a chat about it in the dressing room and the best team won the county championship tonight.

“It was one of the best championship wins I have seen in a long time as Erne Gaels came back from being five points behind to win it and that is some achievement and they also lost one of their great leaders Brian Mullin early on and Shane Rooney was black carded.

“They fully deserved it, and they held us to four points in the second half.

“We focused on the start, and we wanted to set the tone and we did that and Conor Love hit a great goal and we just did not kick on.”

Bradley added: “Belleek’s goal just before halftime was not a turning point but it kept them in the game.

“We were five up at one stage and we just did not build on it.”

And Bradley admitted that he was disappointed with his side’s indiscipline midway through the second half that saw them reduced to 13 men for almost 10 minutes when Eoin Beacom was black carded and Richie O’Callaghan received a red card.

These were crucial turning points, but Bradley was still making no excuses.

“Eoin was a bit petulant, to be honest, and it could have been a straight red and Richie’s is being debated in our group, but these things happen in championship football.

“We lost our discipline.”

And he saluted Erne Gael’s resilience in weathering the early storm.

“We could have been up by a few more points and we were careless, and we could not complain.”

Asked if complacency was a factor, he preferred to salute Erne Gael’s well-organized defence.

“At five up we had a few chances that dropped short, and those fine margins can be crucial but Erne Gaels converted 13 of their 17 chances which is a very good stat and they deserved the win.”

And despite Enniskillen fans voicing displeasure at some of referee Eoin Murphy’s decisions- Bradley was not going down that road.

“No the referee did a good enough job and he was not a factor in this game.”

And he was not commenting on his future: “No, it is only a game of football when you look at what Jody Gormley and the Trillick club are going through.

“We have won the SFL this year, lost a Reserve Championship final and lost a county final and won an U14 A title.

“A lot of clubs would take that but we set a high bar for ourselves and we will regroup for next year.”

It was bittersweet for Bradley as he taught many of the Erne Gaels team when he taught them in St. Mary’s, Brollagh for 26 years which he has previously described as the happiest days of his life.

“I was in the dressing room with and am I happy that they won it? No, but I wish them well in their celebrations.”

True grace under pressure!