AIB Connacht Club SFC Final
St Brigid’s 1-16 Maigh Cuilinn 1-14
By Kevin Egan at King & Moffatt Dr. Hyde Park
Ruaidhrí Fallon’s thunderous strike to the Maigh Cuilinn net with four minutes to play was the decisive strike in King & Moffatt Dr. Hyde Park as St. Brigid’s snatched their sixth Connacht title at the expense of Maigh Cuillin, who were unable to convert their midfield dominance into enough scores to overcome their formidable South Roscommon opponents.
The Galway champions backed their physical power in two ways; firstly trusting in their ability to win contests at midfield, while also testing out the undersized St. Brigid’s full-back line with roughly a dozen high deliveries into the square over the course of the hour.
They didn’t have to wait long for the policy to bear fruit as Fiachra McDonagh got a touch on a high ball to register the game’s first goal, while the two McDonagh brothers revelled in their height advantage against their direct opponents, scoring 1-3 from play between them in the opening half.
St. Brigid’s had just two scores on the board in the opening 20 minutes, a Bobby Nugent free and a fine two-pointer from Man of the Match Conor Hand, but they were working off scraps up front with Niall Walsh, Ger Davoren, Paul Kelly and Seán Kelly all going well in the middle and monopolising the kickout battle.
Ben O’Carroll kicked a couple of neat scores to keep St. Brigid’s in touch, but it still looked as if Maigh Cuilinn would carry at least a two-point lead with them when they turned around to play with the slight breeze in the second half. They were awarded a 45 with 30 seconds remaining in the opening half and while it was right out on the stand side, it looked ideal to just try and work one final chance.
Instead Peter Cooke’s strike dropped short and a lightning fast breakaway move saw Hand pop over another two-pointer to level the game, a crucial swing moment.
Not for the first time this year, the Roscommon champions looked a lot more comfortable playing into a wind, forcing them to keep it tight and controlled. Despite working in heavy traffic in front of the graveyard end goal they weaved together to create nice points for Brian Derwin, Shane Cunnane and Paul McGrath, cancelling out Dessie Conneely’s two-pointer and good scores from Niall Walsh at the other end. By now it was the home side who looked that bit more dominant, albeit they needed to be in order to cancel out the value of the wind.
Conor Carroll has been heroic for St. Brigid’s since his transfer this summer and as well as marshalling the ongoing high ball threat, he got down brilliantly to block a Fionn McDonagh goal attempt, keeping the contest alive at a crucial time.
A real captain’s point from David Wynne looked like it might make that missed chance redundant as the visitors edged into the lead with a little over five minutes remaining but once again it was Conor Hand, the talisman for his side throughout the day, who changed the game. After breaking through two defenders he hoisted in a shot that broke off Mark Daly and was then worked to Ruaidhrí Fallon.
One point down and with the number five on his back, no-one would have faulted Fallon for tapping the ball over the bar, but he wanted more and went for the inside of Pierce Greally’s near post, rattling the net with a powerful drive to make it a two point game.
Dessie Conneely fired over one last free to open the door to the possibility of extra-time but a breach allowed Brigid’s to double their lead again and leave Maigh Cuilinn needing a two-pointer. Former Offaly captain Johnny Moloney took the responsibility with their last attack, but under pressure and from over 50 metres out, his effort skied out to the right and never threatened the posts, confirming their first ever defeat in Connacht competition and sending St. Brigid’s through to the All-Ireland series in January.
Scorers for St. Brigid’s: Conor Hand 0-7 (2tp), Ben O’Carroll 0-3 (1f), Ruaidhrí Fallon 1-0, Bobby Nugent 0-1f, Brian Derwin 0-1, Ciarán Sugrue 0-1, Paul McGrath 0-1, Shane Cunnane 0-1, Mark Daly 0-1,
Scorers for Maigh Cuilinn: Dessie Conneely 0-5 (1tp, 1m, 2fs), Fiachra McDonagh 1-1, Fionn McDonagh 0-3, David Wynne 0-2, Niall Walsh 0-2, Paul Kelly 0-1.
St Brigid’s: Conor Carroll; Robbie Dolan, Seán Trundle, Ruairí Smith; Ruaidhrí Fallon, Brian Stack, Paul McGrath; Shane Cunnane, Eddie Nolan; Ciarán Sugrue, Conor Hand, Bobby Nugent; Ben O’Carroll, Brian Derwin, Senan Kilbride.
Subs: Mark Daly for Kilbride (43), Ronan Stack for Smith (45), Charlie O’Carroll for Nugent (50), Eoghan Derwin for Sugrue (60+1).
Maigh Cuilinn: Pierce Greally; Aidan Claffey, Michael Moughan, Eoghan Kelly; Seán O’Connor, Seán Kelly, David Wynne; Paul Kelly, Tom Clarke; Johnny Moloney, Niall Walsh, Ger Davoren; Fionn McDonagh, Fiachra McDonagh, Dessie Conneely.
Subs: Peter Cooke for O’Connor (26), James McLoughlin for Fiachra McDonagh (50), Conor Corcoran for Clarke (60+1)
Referee: Liam Devenney (Mayo).
