Brigid's tipped to prevent Pearses from retaining crown

Eamon A. Donoghue previews this Sunday's Roscommon SFC final between Padraig Pearses and St Brigid’s.

When most people outside Roscommon look at this fixture, they will see two clubs that have clashed in the 2012 and 2016 county finals, and two clubs who have regularly been at the business end of the championship over recent years. And they could contend that there is nothing new to see here.

But that is far from the full story, for one team at least. For St Brigid’s, the majority of the squad will be involved in their first senior final. Yes, they have players like Peter Domican, Darragh Sheehy, Eoin Sheehy, Gearoid Cunniffe and Brian Stack that have won senior titles. But a large number of players were still playing at underage level when Brigid’s last contested a senior final.

On the other hand, Pearses have a large number of players who have played in county finals over recent years, and they are the reigning champions after their historic win in 2019.

In this year's championship, Pearses were in Group C with Boyle, Michael Glavey's and Tulsk. In their first round game they came up against Boyle, whom they defeated in last year's semi-final. In this year’s group fixture, Boyle looked like they would finally have their day against the Moore/Taughmaconnell side. Boyle were 12 points in front at one stage, dominating the game with Enda Smith outstanding. But after Smith was shown a red card, Pearses recovered and got a very fortunate draw.

Pearses then played Glavey's and they did enough to win in a subdued display. In their final group game, they played last year's intermediate winners Tulsk. In what was the shock of the championship, Tulsk pulled off a deserved win.

Pat Flanagan's charges went into their quarter-final against Roscommon Gaels not sure where they stood, form wise. They did beat the town side comfortably but the eventually convincing result was helped by Gaels crumbling after missing three frees in a row.

In the semi-final Pearses faced neighbours Clann na nGael, whom a number of pundits rated as favourites to win the championship. In an absorbing contest, more for the closeness of the scoring and tension rather than quality, Pearses won by the narrowest of margins.

St Brigid’s were in Group A with Clann na nGael, Strokestown and Elphin. The Kiltoom side played their arch rivals Clann in the first round. Beforehand, nobody outside Kiltoom/Cam/Brideswell gave Brigid’s any hope. The Brigid’s team hadn’t read the script, though. They set out of the traps like a team wanting to prove a point, and they did. They were 11 points up in the first half, 1-8 to 0-0, and Clann had no answers to their movement. But they couldn't keep it going. Clann showed all their experience, clawing back the lead and getting a last-gasp score to draw.

Brigid’s then played Strokestown, winning more comfortably than the scoreboard showed. Their final group game was against Elphin in which they made a statement and people started to take note of this young Brigid’s side. They scored 3-17 and won at a canter to claim a quarter-final spot.

Having defeated Michael Glavey's in their quarter-final, Brigid's were pitted against a more experienced Boyle side in the semi-final. But Benny O'Brien’s side showed how much they were improving and brushed aside their opponents with ease.

Pearses have built a defensive game-plan over a number of years. Their game-plan is awkward to play against and their matches are generally low scoring. Their plan is to force turnovers around the 'D' and transition play is their strength. Their tactics work against sides that have a slow build-up. But their achilles heel is that they don’t score highly themselves. They struggle to win primary possession and depend more on opponents' mistakes than their own creativity.

St Brigid’s are a young, fearless and energetic side that play at pace. They like to move the ball fast and the movement of their inside forwards is elusive. They are more than capable of winning primary possession at midfield. But their weakness could be defensively. They can be opened up down the centre, especially if they are turned over or lose possession before they can get numbers back.

David Murray is the key man marker in the Pearses defence, how he fares on opposing forwards can be the difference in winning and losing. Ronan Daly is key to their transition play. Pearses rely heavily on Paul Carey’s explosive moments on the left flank of the attack. Hubert Darcy, a ball winner at full-forward, is another player that plays in spurts. Darcy is most effective when he stays inside, but he often lacks support close to goal.

For Brigid’s, Peter Domican and Darragh Sheehy are key defenders and both are playing their best football in some time. Paul McGrath has an useful ability to hoover up loose ball. Brian Stack and Eddie Nolan are the engines of the side at midfield. Young Ruaidhri Fallon plays like a veteran when in possession. Eoin Sheehy has taken on the leadership role with aplomb this year. Brian Derwin, Ciaran Sugrue and Ben O’Carroll are a potent inside line. All three have the instinct to take on their man and score. And to give themselves a realistic chance of winning, Pearses will need to curb the scoring exploits of the Brigid’s inside line.

This is a game that’s tough to predict, mainly because the majority of the Brigid’s team are playing their first senior final. How will they adapt on the day? If we thought they were going to perform even close to their best and that their young players wouldn’t be affected with nerves, then the prediction would be much easier to make.

Pearses haven’t been convincing in any game this year, and were lucky to get results against both Clann and Boyle. And losing to Tulsk indicated how they could be got at. In that game, Tulsk didn’t take the ball into the Pearses rearguard, and were patient before releasing runners. Brigid’s have a similar style as Tulsk used in that game - only they are much slicker and have a much better team.

St Brigid’s have the better primary ball winners around midfield, while Pearses have the more secure defence. Brigid’s made light of Boyle’s challenge; they are unbeaten and have improved with every outing. The Kiltoom side's movement in attack and scoring ability could be the difference.

Verdict: St Brigid’s.

*See this week's Westmeath Independent for more on Sunday's final, including interviews with both managers.