Brigid's finish stronger to see off rivals Clann

These age old rivals served up a highly entertaining Roscommon Junior A FC final at Fuerty last Saturday, at the end of which St Brigid's emerged as deserving winners over Clann na nGael. In truth, St Brigid's probably should have won by a bigger margin as they had the lion's share of possession, but a combination of wasteful finishing and the doggedness of Clann meant the game was in the melting pot until the closing stages. Indeed, Clann could have even snatched a replay at the death, when substitute Cormac Harney came close to scoring an equalising goal. St Brigid's team captain Basil Mannion put clear daylight between the sides for the first time with a fine goal in the 41st minute. However, Clann responded four minutes later, when adventurous wing-back Ronan Gavin found the net. It was very much a case of 'game on' at that stage, but Paul Whyte's charges failed to score for the remainder as the Kiltoom men sealed victory with three unanswered points. Brigid's finished the game with ten wides as opposed to three for Clann, but their strong finish meant they were not punished for their earlier profligacy. There was a decent attendance at a well-prepared Mulhern Park for this final. The opening score came from Brigid's midfielder Brendan 'Dixie' O'Brien, who sent the ball over after playing a one-two with full-forward Kieran Kilkenny. After a couple of fine catches by Brigid's 'keeper John Benton, Clann joint-captain Alan Dunne drew his side level from a free. In the seventh minute, Kilkenny put Brigid's back in front, finding the target neatly after a move involving O'Brien and Dermot O'Connor. With Brigid's corner-back Dermot Nestor in defiant and tenacious form, Clann were finding it difficult to penetrate the Kiltoom side's defence. At the other end, Brigid's attacker Cian McDonnell shot an ambitious effort into the side netting, and the men in green and red continued to waste scoring chances. Dermot O'Connor was shown a yellow card for a bad challenge on Clann midfielder Andy Carberry - surprisingly, the only yellow card shown by referee Michael Brehony in the contest, despite some meaty and over-zealous challenges. Brendan O'Brien scored his second point (free) after a foul on McDonnell, to give Brigid's a 0-3 to 0-1 lead. But Brigid's were made pay for their early wastefulness in front of goal, as Clann hit three points in the space of a couple of minutes. Alan Dunne landed his second pointed free in the 25th minute and the same player soon found the range from play, following good work by newly introduced sub David O'Neill. No doubt pleased to be level, given Brigid's greater share of possession, Clann went in front when Graham Pettit set up Dunne for a splendid point. Yet, Dermot O'Connor ensured the teams would be level at half-time (0-4 each), with a point which came after Gerry Dunning had done well to regain possession. Within four minutes of the restart, the industrious Dunning set up Kieran Kilkenny for a point to restore Brigid's lead. Six minutes later, Alan Dunne, Graham Pettit and Sean Walsh did the spadework, to enable Ronan Gavin to draw the sides level once more. The build-up to Basil Mannion's goal was instigated by Dermot O'Connor's deft dummy solo. The ball was then transferred to Kieran Kilkenny and the final pass was supplied by Richie Blaine, before Mannion crashed the ball to the net with aplomb. This seemed to lay the foundation for a Brigid's victory march but, within four minutes, the Drum-Johnstown men were level. Alan Dunne delivered the ball towards the Brigid's goalmouth, Ronan Gavin caught it and fired to the net. The next score, crucially, went to Brian Lennon's side, substitute Darragh Blaine sending the ball over off his left foot. Clann 'keeper Cathal Hannon then appeared to get away with a blatant foul on Blaine, who seemed to be entitled to a 13-metre free. Brigid's defender Mark Grehan was unlucky not to point after joining the attack and O'Brien then sent a lineball wide, as the eventual winners continued to struggle to turn possession into scores. However, a driving run by Basil Mannion paved the way for Gerry Dunning to shoot a point his endeavour richly deserved. The experienced midfield pairing of Mannion and Brendan O'Brien continued to drive Brigid's forward, and a huge free from the latter led to Kieran Kilkenny scoring his third point from play. That score came in the 62nd minute but, with five minutes of additional time announced, there was still time for some late scares. After Alan Dunne lobbed a free into the danger area, both David O'Neill and Cormac Harney attempted to grab a late goal, but the ball was eventually forced out for a fruitless 45'. The final whistle followed shortly afterwards, and Basil Mannion covered all bases in an excellent acceptance speech. For St Brigid's, John Benton had a sound game between the posts, while Dermot Nestor (arguably the man-of-the-match), impressive centre-back Peadar Kelly and Kenny Noonan were the pick of the defence. The aforementioned midfield pairing ruled the roost, while Richie Blaine, Dermot O'Connor, Gerry Dunning and Kieran Kilkenny all had prominent spells in attack. Clann na nGael lacked the overall quality of their neighbours, but they still contributed to a fine game. The only two players in blue and gold to get on the scoresheet - Ronan Gavin and Alan Dunne - certainly gave everything for the cause. Ronan Killian and sub David O'Neill toiled hard, whilst Graham Pettit did some good work, particularly when moved to midfield. Meanwhile, there was some consolation for Clann, when they defeated Boyle in the Junior B final which followed this game. SCORERS - St Brigid's: B Mannion 1-0; K Kilkenny 0-3; B O'Brien 0-2 (1f); D O'Connor, G Dunning and D Blaine 0-1 each. Clann na nGael: R Gavin 1-1; A Dunne 0-4 (2f). St Brigid's: John Benton; Dermot Nestor, Rob Dwyer, Mark Grehan; Michael Domican, Peadar Kelly, Kenny Noonan; Basil Mannion (captain), Brendan O'Brien; Richie Blaine, Dermot O'Connor, Gerry Dunning; Cian McDonnell, Kieran Kilkenny, John Grehan. Subs: Darragh Blaine for McDonnell (36 mins); Mark Gavin for J Grehan (45); Eoin Mannion for Domican (47); Cathal Lydon for D Blaine (injured, 59). Clann na nGael: Cathal Hannon; Derek Egan, Kevin Naughton, Niall Kennedy; Ronan Gavin, Eugene Pettit, David Lennon; Emmet Rock, Andy Carberry; Sean Walsh, Alan Dunne (join captain), Ronan Killian; Niall Lennon, Graham Pettit, Neil Harney. Subs: David O'Neill for N Harney (25 mins); John Paul Dunning for N Lennon (34); Cormac Harney for Walsh (54); N Harney for Carberry (injured, 59). Referee: Michael Brehony.