Brigid’s blitz Ballina to set up final date

 

AIB Connacht Club SFC semi-final

St Brigid’s 1-21 Ballina Stephenites 3-8

 

Seamus Duke at King & Moffatt Dr Hyde Park

 

Those of us who suspected that St Brigid’s would blossom once they had escaped the bear pit that is the Roscommon SFC were proven right at King & Moffatt Dr Hyde Park last Sunday when they produced a sparkling display of superb attacking football to overwhelm Mayo champions Ballina in the provincial semi-final.

This display by St Brigid’s was not without its flaws though as they kicked ten wides and a number of other good chances were dispatched into the opposition goalkeeper’s hands. Perhaps more worryingly, they also conceded three goals, at least two of which were of the soft variety. But overall it was by far the best display of the championship to date from Anthony Cunningham’s men.

Their movement off the ball and the speed with which St Brigid’s transferred possession from defence into attack was a joy to behold as they laid siege to the Ballina goal for most of the game. With eleven different players getting on the scoresheet it was a superb team performance from the Roscommon champions.

On a bitterly cold, breezy day there was a dramatic start to the game, Ballina going 1-1 to no score ahead after only five minutes. Frank Irwin’s long delivery was fisted to the St Brigid’s net by Dylan Thornton in the 3rd minute with Irwin following up with a smart point two minutes later.

But it was very much a false dawn for the Mayo men as St Brigid’s took control at midfield and set about their task with relish. Points from Shane Cunnane and Bobby Nugent set them on their way and then in the 8th minute disaster struck for Ballina. Defender Sean Regan passed straight to Senan Kilbride and the veteran made no mistake, blasting the ball past David Clarke. Ben O’Carroll added to the Brigid’s lead two minutes later with a well-taken point.

Ballina were back in the game briefly after a bizarre goal in the 17th minute. Once again Irwin was the creator, finding Evan Regan in the danger area. With his back to goal the team captain managed a spectacular bicycle kick to lob the ball over Conor Carroll and into the net to give his side a 2-1 to 1-3 lead.

From there to half-time St Brigid’s played some mesmerising football, scoring nine points without reply. With Brian Stack and Ruaidhrí Fallon driving them on from the half-back line, and Eddie Nolan and Shane Cunnane on top at midfield, the Brigid’s attackers ran riot with the ball sailing over the bar from a variety of angles and distances. Everything was done with lightning pace and it was super to watch.

Ben O’Carroll, Brian Derwin and Conor Hand were especially prominent as the Roscommon champions pulled away. By half-time it was St Brigid’s 1-12 Ballina 2-1. Indeed it could have been even more as Brigid’s kicked a number of bad wides in that third quarter.

One thing that the St Brigid’s team management is likely to be concerned about is that they conceded soft goals. The third Ballina goal arrived four minutes into the second half when Mike Murray and Sam Callinan set up Ben Thornton to shoot to the net.

St Brigid’s dusted themselves down and continued to dominate. By the 48th minute they led by ten points, 1-18 to 3-2. In fairness to Ballina they stuck to their task and in the final quarter they outscored Brigid’s by 0-6 to 0-3. Of course the outcome of the game had been decided long before then.

Brigid’s emptied their bench in the final quarter and Charlie O’Carroll and Ronan Stack both got on the scoresheet for the Roscommon champions before referee Barry Judge brought proceedings to a halt after four minutes of injury-time.

It was a superb display from St Brigid’s, but they will know that much stiffer tests lie ahead. But on this evidence it will take a very good team to beat them if they can perform like this.

From a defensive perspective, the concession of those three goals will be worry, but on the positive side Ruaidhrí Fallon, Brian Stack and Paul McGrath were outstanding in the half-back line.

In the middle of the park, Eddie Nolan and Shane Cunnane had their best outing for some time. Up front, Ben O’Carroll, Brian Derwin and Conor Hand stood out, but every Brigid’s attacker contributed to this performance, with subs Charlie O’Carroll and Ronan Stack also getting in on the scoring act.

For Ballina, who were well beaten on the day, Sam Callinan, Mike Murray, Frank Irwin and Evan Regan had their moments but they never really looked like they could win this match after their positive start was surpassed by the Brigid’s’ response.

*The AIB Connacht Club SFC final will take place on Sunday week in King & Moffatt Dr Hyde Park between St Brigid’s and the Galway champions Maigh Cuillin, who easily defeated Leitrim Gaels in the other semi-final last Sunday.

St Brigid’s: Conor Carroll; Rúairí Smith, Séan Trundle, Robbie Dolan; Ruaidhrí Fallon (0-4, 1 2p), Brian Stack, Paul McGrath (0-2); Shane Cunnane (0-2), Eddie Nolan; Bobby Nugent (0-2, 1 free), Ciarán Sugrue (0-2), Conor Hand (0-1); Senan Kilbride (1-0), Ben O’Carroll (0-3, 1 free), Brian Derwin (0-2). Subs: Eoghan Derwin for B Derwin (42), Charlie O’Carroll (0-2) for Nugent (42), Ronan Stack (0-1) for Smith (46), Mark Daly for Cunnane (51), Eoin Sheehy for B O’Carroll (56).

Ballina Stephenites: David Clarke; Liam Golden, Luke Jordan, Ciaran Boland; Sam Callinan (0-1), Sean Regan, David Tighe; Mike Murray (0-3, 1 2p), Frank Irwin (0-1); Dylan Thornton (1-0), Pauric O’Hora, Niall Feeney; Evan Regan (1-3, 2 frees), Luke Doherty, Conor McStay. Subs: Ben Thornton (1-0) for Boland (30), Ciaran Treacy for Tighe (47), Luke Feeney for N Feeney (59).

Referee: B Judge (Sligo).

 

‘Still room for improvement’

 

Seamus Duke

 

St Brigid’s team manager Anthony Cunningham was a very happy man when he spoke to the Roscommon People after the game.

“There were some brilliant passages of play from us, but there are loads of areas we can improve on for the final.”

Anthony said that while the concession of the three goals was a worry, it was a super display from his charges.

“You’d always be disappointed to concede three goals. We’ll look at that and we’ll have to be better in that regard the next day. But you’d have to acknowledge that some of the play from the guys was outstanding. I felt we really kicked on from the two great matches against Pearses.”

Anthony then looked ahead to the upcoming Connacht final clash with Maigh Cuillin.

“For us, we’re delighted to be coming back here to the Hyde for a final. You can’t beat matches. At this time of year, conditions are tough. It’s hard to train.

“Maigh Cuillin are a formidable side. They’ve been brilliant over the last number of years, so we’ll have to be as sharp and generally better than we were today” he concluded.

 

 

‘It didn’t feel like a comfortable win’

 

One of the outstanding St Brigid’s performances on the day was that of team captain Paul McGrath. He said after the game that although they won easily it never felt that way.

“It didn’t feel like a comfortable win. They’re a dangerous team. We always felt they could come back. They did their best at the end but thankfully we held out. We’ll have to look at the source of those three goals and try and clean that up for the final.

“I thought we were really good at times. When we won the breaks, we just broke off them. The subs coming in were class, which was a huge boost.”

Paul says that once St Brigid’s got out of Roscommon they felt that they could open up a bit more.

“Pearses would have said the same thing last year, that when you get out of Roscommon, you play teams that you don’t really know, and they don’t know you. It’s really open, and you can go out there and express yourself a bit more.”

The last word he had was on the upcoming Connacht final.

“Maigh Cuillin are a serious outfit. We know that. That will be another massive challenge. Still, we’re really looking forward to it” he concluded.

Stat Attack

 

Red cards: 0

Black cards: 0

Yellow cards: St Brigid’s 0; Ballina 2 (Conor McStay, Dylan Thornton)

Wides: St Brigid’s 10 (7, first half); Ballina 6 (2, first half)

Attendance: Approx. 2,000

Man of the Match: Ruaidhrí Fallon (St Brigid’s)