St Brigid"s reign finally comes to an end as Moran shoots Gaels to victory

After three years of dominance in Roscommon and, to a certain extent, Connacht, St. Brigid"s finally relinquished their firm grasp on the Fahy Cup on Sunday evening in Castlerea. Western Gaels were good value for their win and they proved right those people within Roscommon who opined that the Frenchpark side were the one side in the county that could oust the champions. Among the highlights of the game was the free-taking of full-forward Derek Moran, who provided 0-7 to the Western Gaels cause. By the same token, Brigid"s missed three relatively simple frees by their standards and this proved to be a crucial stat at the final whistle. After an initial Western Gaels wide, the Frenchpark side took the lead on three minutes when a good ball into the full-forward line by John Nolan was collected by Tommy Gill. Gill then swivelled before pointing the game"s opening score. This was soon followed by a Kevin Higgins fisted effort on five minutes after the wing-forward was left unmarked. Senan Kilbride got Brigid"s up and running with a converted free on six minutes and just 60 seconds later Frankie Dolan managed to curl in an exquisite score off his right boot to level up matters. Derek Moran landed the first of his seven frees on 8 minutes after Roscommon"s Cathal Cregg was felled. But this was cancelled out by Karol Mannion, who coolly slotted the ball between the posts after Frankie Dolan caught the Western Gaels defence napping with a quickly taken 45. Further evidence that the Western Gaels defence were not at the races came on 13 minutes when high ball in from Mark O"Carroll was misjudged by everyone and landed into the hands of the unmarked Cathal McHugh. McHugh looked odds-on to goal but slipped at the crucial moment and lost possession. Brigid"s were looking threatening, however, and the opening goal wasn"t far away. Some more indecision in the Western Gaels defence on 15 minutes gave Brigid"s a 45 which Frankie Dolan took. Dolan"s strike dropped short but just as the danger looked to have passed, both Western Gaels "keeper Padraig Cummins and full-back Dermot McGarry got their wires crossed and jumped for the same ball. The ball broke kindly to David O"Connor who had the simple task of placing the ball to the net. A lesser team would have crumbled against a team like St. Brigid"s, but the Western Gaels backlash in the wake of O"Connor"s goal was very impressive. A monster free from Derek Moran from outside the 45 was followed smartly by a Kevin Higgins point. Moran landed an identical free on 20 minutes to cancel out the Brigid"s goal and level matters up once again. He followed that up with another expertly taken free to put Western Gaels back into the lead. But the comeback didn"t stop there. On 25 minutes Cathal Cregg picked out Kevin Higgins with a diagonal 40-yard pass. Higgins found himself clean through on goal and made no mistake putting the ball through James Martin"s legs and to the back of the net. David O"Connor almost gave Brigid"s the perfect response when he attempted to palm Frankie Dolan"s hand-pass to the net on 28 minutes, but his effort just dropped over the crossbar. A Derek Moran point in front of the posts on the stroke of half-time completed an extremely satisfactory half for Western Gaels and gave them a deserved 4-point lead to take into the second period of play. The second half began slowly and scrappily. Brigid"s failed to convert to relatively easy frees on 37 and 38 minutes - Senan Kilbride and Frankie Dolan the free-takers - but they did get it right on 41 when David O"Connor pointed a free. Despite missing that earlier free, Dolan landed a superb one on 45 minutes when he struck a free with the outside of his right boot from over 45 yards out. The gap was now just two. Western Gaels were lucky not to have been reduced to 14 men soon after when midfielder Adrian Dockery clearly struck Frankie Dolan in the face. It wasn"t quite a punch but contact was made and it was a striking action. The letter of the law dictates that it should have been red, but Haulie Beirne decided yellow - a lucky escape. Thomas Mahon got Western Gaels" first of the half on 46 minutes to restore his side"s three-point lead, but points from Karol Mannion and Senan Kilbride brought the margin down to the bare minimum with just 10 minutes remaining. Derek Moran, thus far flawless with his free-taking, dropped one short on 51 as Western Gaels began to show signs that perhaps they would crack under the pressure. David O"Connor brought the champions back to level terms for the first time since the 20th minute when he curled over a free on 52 minutes. Brigid"s appeared to have the momentum but, luckily for Western Gaels, Derek Moran found his groove again and curled a massive free in off the post from 45 yards out and way out on the left hand side of the pitch. As the game ticked over into time added-on, Western Gaels were awarded another free. Brigid"s disputed the free and it was brought right in between the posts - a simple task for Moran. Western Gaels were now in a winning position but had to hold out for a little while longer, as the match announcer indicated at least five minutes of injury-time would be played. An O"Connor free put just one between the two sides with still two minutes of stoppage-time to be played. But Gaels battled bravely with Seanie McDermott and Adrian Dockery fielding some magnificent balls in the full-back line and midfield respectively. Last year at the same stage, Brigid"s were somewhat lucky to beat Strokestown with a late and hotly disputed Karol Mannion penalty. This year there was to be no such luck for the Kiltoom side as Haulie Beirne"s final whistle, a good six minutes into stoppage-time, signalled the end of St. Brigid"s reign as county champions for the time being at least. SCORERS - WESTERN GAELS: Derek Moran (0-7, 7f), K Higgins (1-2), T Mahon (0-1), T Gill (0-1). ST. BRIGID"S: D O"Connor (1-4, 0-3f), K Mannion (0-2), F Dolan (0-2, 1f), S Kilbride (0-2, 1f). WESTERN GAELS: Padraig Cummins, Adrian Freyne, Dermot McGarry, Sean McDermott, Donal Ward, John Nolan, Eamon Ryan, David Jordan, Adrian Dockery, Thomas Mahon, Tommy Gill, Kevin Higgins, Mark Drury, Derek Moran, Cathal Cregg. SUBS USED: Christopher Collins for Ryan (17 mins), Niall Murray for Collins (48 mins), Gerry Nolan for Drury (53 mins), Michael Higgins for Cregg (59 mins), Eamon Ryan for Mahon (60 +4 mins). ST. BRIGID"S: James Martin, Robbie Kelly, Darragh Donnelly, Michael O"Brien, Ian Kilbride, Ger Aherne, John Tiernan, Mark O"Carroll, Karol Mannion, Cormac Sheehy, Frankie Dolan, Damien Kelleher, David O"Connor, Senan Kilbride, Cathal McHugh. SUBS USED: Eoin Mannion for Cormac (HT), Kevin Touhy for I Kilbride (39 mins), Gearoid Cunniffe for Kelleher (41 mins), Brendan O"Brien for McHugh (55 mins). REFEREE: Haulie Beirne.