Dingle deny St Brigid's in thriller

AIB All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship final

Dingle (Daingean Uí Chúis) 0-23 St Brigid's 1-19 (AET)

Heartbreak for St Brigid's. Unbridled joy for Dingle who eventually claimed victory in an absolutely thrilling All-Ireland senior club football final which went to extra-time at Croke Park today (Sunday).

Dingle substitute Mikey Geaney kicked the winning point in a remarkable contest which swung in the favour of each side at various stages.

The outstanding Ruaidhrí Fallon, who finished with a tally of 1-6, earned Brigid's extra-time with a glorious two-pointer deep in added time at the end of the second half. Indeed, the allocated five minutes were already up when Fallon got the ball outside the arc, but he nailed the chance with aplomb. And so extra-time was required on a scoreline of St Brigid's 1-14 Dingle 0-17.

"History is written by the victors" as they say, but Brigid's had several heroic performances on the day, though that will be scant consolation. Conor Hand never stopped running at the opposition and he scored three points from play and midfielder Shane Cunnane contributed 0-5, in addition to putting in a huge shift at midfield.

With attack-minded defender Tom O'Sullivan to the fore, Dingle got off to a bright start and led 0-5 to 0-1 early on. It could have been worse for Brigid's as Niall Geaney drove a low shot just wide from a gilt-edged goal chance.

The Kiltoom men gradually settled and as they began to win more possession from kickouts, the scores began to follow. Cunnane, Fallon and joint captain Brian Stack showed the way with early points. And when Cunnane sent over a 15th-minute two-pointer, the sides were level.

At half-time, the Roscommon champions led 0-9 to 0-7, after Bobby Nugent hit the last two points of the half. It was a state of affairs they had to be satisfied with, given the difficult start they endured.

A two-pointer from Dingle midfielder Mark O'Connor made it 1-10 apiece early in the second half. A few minutes late, however, a potentially game-swinging moment arrived when Fallon punched to the net after Hand's point attempt dropped short.

Yet St Brigid's were unable to build on this boost and a two-pointer from the excellent Dylan Geaney (chosen for the official man of the match award) helped to wipe out the deficit.

The issuing of a black card to defender Pearse Frost was a blow to Brigid's as it left them a man down for ten minutes. The game remained on a knife edge but when Paul Geaney put Dingle 0-17 to 1-12 ahead in the 64th minute, it looked like the Kerry champions would hold on.

Goalkeeper Conor Carroll's late attempt at at two-pointer from a free went short, but play continued and Brigid's found Fallon in space and he did the rest.

Anthony Cunningham's men went into a 1-17 to 0-17 lead in extra-time courtesy of the dynamic Fallon, who raised a white flag followed by an orange one.

Padraig Corcoran's charges drew level once more, before points from Cunnane and substitute Charlie O'Carroll left Brigid's on the cusp of victory, only for Tom O'Sullivan to rescue Dingle with a brace of points.

The winning point came in the second of the two allocated minutes of added time, Mikey Geaney guiding the ball over off his left foot.

The game finished in confusion as Dingle players celebrated on the pitch thinking referee Martin McNally had blown the final whistle. The famous words of Kenneth Wolstenholme - "They think it's all over" - came to mind, only it wasn't over, at least not yet.

It appears the referee penalised Brigid's for having players inside the arc as Conor Carroll took the kickout. Paul Geaney took no chances with the resulting free, making sure he kicked the ball dead. Missing a close-range free surely never felt as good as the final whistle then duly followed, paving the way for Paul Geaney to lift the Andy Merrigan Cup.

Now the celebrations could begin in earnest on the pitch and back in West Kerry. On the other hand, St Brigid's were left to digest the bitter disappointment of a second All-Ireland final defeat in three years.

Scorers - Dingle: D Geaney (1tp) 0-6; Tom O'Sullivan 0-5; T Browne and P Geaney (1f) 0-3 each; C Flannery and M O'Connor (tp) 0-2 each; M Geaney and C Geaney (f) 0-1 each. St Brigid's: R Fallon 1-6; S Cunnane 0-5 (1tp, 1 '45'); C Hand 0-3; B Nugent 0-2 (1f); B Stack, B O'Carroll and C Carroll 0-1 each.

St Brigid's - Conor Carroll; Pearse Frost, Seán Trundle, Robbie Dolan; Ruaidhrí Fallon, Brian Stack (joint captain), Paul McGrath (joint captain); Shane Cunnane, Eddie Nolan; Ciarán Sugrue, Conor Hand, Bobby Nugent; Ben O'Carroll, Mark Daly, Brian Derwin. Subs: Ronan Stack for Nugent (48 mins); Charlie O'Carroll for B O'Carroll (55); Senan Kilbride for Daly (58); Eoghan Derwin for Sugrue  (e-t, h-t); Ben O'Carroll for B Derwin  (e-t, h-t); Eoin Sheehy for McGrath (76).

Dingle - Gavin Curran;  Brian O'Connor, Tom Leo O'Sullivan, Tom O'Sullivan; Aidan O'Connor, Conor Flannery, Patrick O'Connor; Mark O'Connor, Billy O'Connor; Tadhg Browne, Paul Geaney, Dylan Geaney; Conor Geaney, Matthew Flaherty, Niall Geaney. Subs: Ned Ryan for B O'Connor (50 mins); Mikey Geaney for Flaherty (57); Sean Óg Moran for Browne (e-t, h-t); Matthew Flaherty for A O'Connor (78).

Referee - Martin McNally (Monaghan).