U21A Football Championship Final

Sunday 23^rd November

Report by Niall Kelly from Woodlands

Naomh Gall 1-14   Naomh Bríd 3-13

St Brigid’s clinched this year’s U21A football title piping a gallant St Gall’s outfit by five points in a gripping encounter. After being delayed for a week due to inclement weather, it’s fair to say that this year’s showpiece was well worth the wait. Chaotic, frenetic, hard-hitting, dramatic and with scores aplenty: it really was a spectacle for the sizable crowd in attendance who’d braved November’s cold chill. These two have been trailblazers when it comes to underage success in recent years with St Gall’s targeting two in a row and St Brigid’s keen to add to their already glittering list of accolades. It should’ve come as no surprise that this one would be a proper stormer.

Opting to play with a stiff breeze in the first half, the Musgrave Park men took full advantage of the elements as they racked up an eleven-point lead at the break with Joseph Logan in prolific form, firing in two majors. St Brigid’s were electric going forward and with the two McGurks dominating midfield and scoring from range for fun, the Milltown men’s hopes were looking rather bleak.

Indeed, Naomh Gall had it all to do in the second thirty but my word did they come close. Daniel Quinn’s prowess from range saw him tally 0-07 with four coming courtesy of the orange flag. Despite being reduced to thirteen men, it looked like a Lazarus-like comeback was on the cards as when Niall Fallon’s two-pointed effort found it’s mark, the gap was reduced to a single point with five minutes of normal time left on Colin Thompson’s watch.

Nevertheless, Naomh Bríd steadied the ship and kept their composure well to finish the stronger of the two as the numerical advantage became more apparent in the closing stages. JJ Higgins found the net two minutes from the end with a clinical finish before Joseph Logan fired over another point to cap off a fine individual performance and seal the silverware for the men in white and blue.

St Brigid’s flew out of the traps and raced into a seven-point lead in the opening ten minutes. Donncha McGurk’s perfectly flighted effort from the forty-five brandished an orange flag before St Brigid’s fired in an early major as they pounced on the counter with a superb goal from Joseph Logan who rifled his effort into the roof of the net. McGurk’s name-sake Brian then demonstrated his own ability from range with another towering effort from well beyond the arc as Naomh Bríd were fully cashing in on the wind at their backs. Naomh Gall were giving as good as they got but just couldn’t make anything stick on the scoreboard as St Brigid’s were devastating on the counter.

It wouldn’t be until the eighteenth minute when St Gall’s would break their duck as Padraig O’Muirigh tapped over a close-range free to give his side some respite. St Brigid’s responded emphatically though as Rory McErlean found his bearings from a free before Brian McGurk doubled his two-point tally for the day with another soaring effort from well outside the arc. JJ Higgins would then open his account on the twenty-second minute as they sought to turn the screw.

Naomh Bríd’s compact defence was proving a tough nut to crack but Callum Walsh managed to power his way through to slot over St Gall’s first from play with five remaining until the short whistle. Moments later, Liam Lynn added another as he rose highest to fist over Daniel Quinn’s flighted effort from the forty-five.

Just as it appeared that the men in blue were inching their way back into it, their opponents dealt them another hammer blow. Again, it would be Logan who would do the damage as the young number fifteen found himself in acres of his space before advancing forward to drill low and hard to the net, doubling his goal tally for the day for good measure.

Lynn would again reply for his side, but St Brigid’s finished the half with yet another score. This one came from a more unlikely source as Sonny Doyle powered his way forward from full-back to put the finishing touches on a flowing move to give his side a commanding eleven-point lead before the whistle for the interval sounded with the scores 2-09 to 0-04 in favour of Naomh Bríd.

Naomh Gall understood they had an uphill battle on their hands in the second period, but with the heavy attacking artillery they had amongst their ranks, they also knew they had it in them. They started positively as centre-forward Daniel Quinn blasted over a free from beyond the arc to cut the deficit into single figures again.

Although St Brigid’s responded through Isaac Robinson, there was much more purpose about St Gall’s from an offensive standpoint as they looked to also capitalise on the wind themselves. Quinn was once again on hand to curl in a superb effort from a tight angle to galvanise his side. The game was now being played at a frenetic pace and hard-hits were flying in from all angles and there was a bit of needle injected into proceedings. With a few off the ball incidents occurring, things were getting a little heated and in one such exchange St Gall’s were reduced to fourteen men as their uphill task became even trickier.

Nevertheless, the men in blue seemed unperturbed and used this as fuel in their attempts at clawing back the deficit. Midway through the half, they got a lifeline as Aaron Mackel pounced among a melee of players to sweep in off the deck with a beautiful effort from his left foot as the ball nestled in the roof of the net. With six points now the margin, it looked as though it could be game on again.

However, the feisty element to the game soon spilled over as both sets of players were involved in a bit of an entanglement. Once all had calmed, St Gall’s were sanctioned with a second dismissal and it now seemed that with a two-man disadvantage, surely it would be too much to ask.

Yet again though, with their backs against the wall, the Milltown men rose once more as the imperious Daniel Murray would hit the next two in a row and suddenly the gap was down to four as the game approached the final ten minutes. Naomh Bríd were then reduced to fourteen men, or temporarily at least, as they fell victim to a black card which gave their counterparts that little more impetus. Talisman, Murray, would strike again on the fifty-third minute with yet another two-pointed effort as St Gall’s continued to rally.

St Brigid’s were desperate for some form of respite to quell the oncoming tide of scores from their opponents and had Joseph Logan to thank once again as he tapped over from close range moments later. However, the gap was cut to the minimum on the fifty-fifth minute as a superb effort from beyond the arc found its’ target from the cultured right boot of Niall Fallon and somehow, someway St Gall’s were on the verge of a titanic come-back.

Perhaps it was this score which stirred St Brigid’s back into life as they recaptured their form from the first-half to finish with aplomb. Full-forward JJ Higgins managed to stab home to the net amongst a sea of bodies to score his side’s third major. The numerical advantage was now really beginning to take its toll as St Brigid’s maintained possession well to take the sting from proceedings in the closing moments. Ethan Walsh and Logan would exchange points as the game went into time added on before Dara Quinn added a little more gloss to the score-line with a well-taken effort from close range to seal yet another title for this crop of St Brigid’s players.

Credit to both for an enthralling game. Despite suffering setback after setback, St Gall’s character never faltered. They will maintain a good few of this current crop for next year and will hope to go again and taste success at this grade once again. For St Brigid’s, they have been synonymous with titles at underage. This current crop are no exception and with the nucleus of the side still U21 next year, they will have their eyes set on repeating this feat next year.

Naomh Gall: C Óg Mullan; F McCullough, G McAdhaimh, C Hale; S MacAdhaimh, L Lynn (0-02,) E Walsh (0-01;) M McCrossan, O Maskey; D MacCrabhagain, D Quinn (0-07 – 2 t.p,) P O’Muirigh (0-01;) N Fallon (0-02 – 1 t.p,) C Walsh (0-01,) A Mackel (1-00)

Naomh Bríd: L Cullinan; C Logue, S Doyle (0-01,) T McKenna; A McNicholl, N Finnegan, C O’Connell; B McGurk (0-04 – 2 t.p,) D McGurk (0-02 – 1 t.p;) D Quinn (0-01,) N Duffy, I Robinson (0-01;) R McErlean (0-01,) JJ Higgins (1-01,) J Logan (2-02)

Referee: Colin Thompson (St. John’s)

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