London calling for St Brigid's as Connacht winners face Fulham Irish

IN terms of sporting surprises, anything other than a St Brigid's victory in Sunday's All-Ireland Club SFC quarter-final against Fulham Irish (Ruislip, 1pm) would rank among the greatest of recent times. Double Connacht champions, St Brigid's are raging hot favourites to advance, with plenty to spare, when they take on minnows Fulham Irish, a club only formed in 2006, and who claimed a first ever London SFC title this year. However, recent years have suggested London football is on the up. In May, for example, Mayo were trailing London by two points with just four minutes of regulation time remaining in their Connacht SFC quarter-final, and needed extra-time to eventually see off a brave London outfit.Then in June, London beat Fermanagh by six points in the All-Ireland qualifiers, claiming the Exiles' first win in a Championship game since the 1977 Connacht championship win over Leitrim. On the club scene, Crossmaglen Rangers - who went on to beat St Brigid's in last March's All-Ireland club final - also had a scare of their own in London, when they laboured to victory over 2010 London champions, Neasden Gaels, in the All-Ireland quarter-final in Ruislip. A goal from Francis Hanratty in injury time gave the final scoreline a slightly unfair reflection, with Crossmaglen winning 1-8 to 0-5, but there was no doubt the Ulster men had been given an almighty fright by the Londoners. While St Brigid's manager Noel O'Brien accepts his team are 100 per cent favourites for Sunday, he has reservations about the South Roscommon's trip into the unknown. "You never quite know what to expect with these sort of games, and I don't know very much about Fulham Irish, to be honest," O'Brien admitted. "I'm sure we'll pick up a few bits and pieces about them before the game, but the most important thing, from our point of view, is to go to London in the right frame of mind. You don't know what can happen in these type of matches, so it's important the frame of mind is the same as if you were playing a team from Cork, Dublin or Galway. "It could be a tricky game for us, but we've prepared very seriously and will have the right approach. Crossmaglen found it very difficult over there (in London) last year, and we know how good Crossmaglen are, but we don't really know the standard of club football in London, and will just have to take it as it comes. I'm confident we'll have enough about us to get through, but I'd imagine Fulham Irish will have some handy players, and will certainly be up for the occasion," he added. Unfortunately, St Brigid's recent Connacht final victory over Corofin was somewhat tarnished by the unsavoury scenes that occurred at full-time, when the referee and his officials were put under attack by some spectators. Much of the media focus afterwards also centred around the referee's decision to award far more frees to Brigid's, and to controversially disallow a first half goal by Corofin. Noel O'Brien conceded that the after-match furore took a bit of gloss off St Brigid's wonderful achievement of winning back to back Connacht titles, but he said there was nothing St Brigid's could do about any decisions made by the officials. "You take what you're given and get on with it," he said. "I know the goal that was ruled out was a major talking points, but I've watched the disallowed goal on DVD a few times since, and believe the referee disallowed it for the forward leaning back into the defender. I don't know. Look, there was nothing we could do about any decisions, we just took our chances and were delighted to win another Connacht title. Clann na nGael did it in their heyday (back to back Connacht titles), but not a lot of clubs achieve it, so we're absolutely delighted with the achievement," added O'Brien. The St Brigid's manager is now looking for his players to push on, as they bid to reach the All-Ireland club final showpiece on St Patrick's Day for the second year running. However, there's still much work to be done before then. Firstly, they have to dispense of Fulham Irish, a task which should be within their range. If they do so, the tantalising prospect of facing local neighbours Garrycastle in the All-Ireland semi-finals will be within touching distance. Garrycastle play Athy this weekend in the Leinster semi-finals, and if they come through their province, the two sides will meet in the All-Ireland last four. O'Brien said: "We've a bit of work to do before that fixture is possible, but I'd personally love to see Garrycastle win Leinster. I think they deserve it after the last few years, and they have a tremendous team. Of course, a meeting of Garrycastle and St Brigid's in an All-Ireland semi-final would be massive, and it would be a fantastic occasion. Hopefully, it comes about and I think they've a great chance of coming out of Leinster this year. "We just need to focus on Fulham Irish for now, and then look forward to giving the players a well-earned rest if we come through."