LONDON SFC FINAL 2006
Bobo the crown
London SFC Final
By John Collins (Irish World)
St Brendans.........0-9
Tara.....................1-4
Bobo and the munchkins
guide St Brendans to their third Senior
Football title
Once there was Bobo the Clown, the
fun-filled circus character who entertained
children throughout the land.
Now there is Bobo the Crown, championship
game-breaker extraordinaire and one of the
key reasons why St Brendans are now London
Senior Football Champions for 2006.
Having helped conquer the Parnells in last
week’s windswept semi-final, Simon “Bobo”
Cullen contributed enormously to this
unexpected, but well deserved, victory over
Tara in an entertaining Championship Final
in Ruislip on Saturday last.
This time though Bobo had some helper in the
shape of his half back line of Liam
O’Connell, Fergal Greenan and Paul Tierney.
Entering the game as clear underdogs,
following Tara’s very impressive semi-final
display against competition favourites Tir
Chonaill Gaels, St Brendans brought with
them a game plan, a work ethic, no little
hurt from last year’s final defeat and a bag
full of omens in their favour.
Despite all those qualities, few could see
anyway that they could put the brake on the
Tara march to the Championship.
The omens though worked once more. Having
been beaten in the 1993 and 2001 finals by
Tir Chonaill Gaels, before going on to lift
the titles in 1994 and 2002, St Brendans
carried the memories of their 2005 defeat to
the Gaels into this game and once more
history was to repeat itself.
Their well thought out game plan too was to
stand them in good stead, with a group of
players all working for one another and for
the team, making sure that the star-studded
Tara line-up was never allowed to flex their
muscles in this game.
Instead it was that munchkin-like half back
line of Paul Tierney, Fergal Greenan and
Liam O’Connell who, resembling a crew of
umpa-lumpas in Charlie’s Chocolate factory,
worked tirelessly to prevent the Tara from
creating any sort of platform for their
forwards to build from.
On the few occasions when Martin Murtagh’s
team did make any inroads into the Brendans’
defence, their shooting and more importantly
their shot-selection, was embarrassingly
poor to say the least. Certainly, they
lacked anything like the incisiveness that
they had shown in the previous round.
But it had all started so well for Murtagh’s
men. A point in the opening seconds from
Michael Hoey, after Paul Hehir had gathered
the first high ball into the box against
Paul Malone, hinted at a perfect game plan
for the Tara.
However, like a bouncer with a heart, Malone
allowed Hehir the one free-shot and then
promptly wrapped him up for the remainder of
the half. Without doubt, Malone won the
battle on a TKO, especially as Hehir was
moved to midfield at the start of the second
half; a move that few neutrals could see the
logic in.
But before that move, many of the same
neutrals were left wondering if we were
going to end up with a one-sided showdown,
after all the trials and tribulations we had
had to suffer to get this far in the first
place.
A
typically bustling run from the right wing
by Chris Donnellan, one of the few occasions
he managed to avoid the omni-present Fergal
Greenan, saw his blistering shot only
parried by Billy Molloy and Paul Hehir was
on hand to volley home from close range with
his right foot, to give the Tara a
comfortable early 4-point lead.
With almost ten minutes on the clock, St
Brendans finally registered a score, when
Paddy Bowles took advantage of a typical
piece of authoritarian refereeing from
Mattie Maher, who had moved the ball forward
ten yards following descent from a Tara
player and Bowles slotted over with ease.
One of the umpa-lumpa’s then weighed in
memorable fashion, as in the space of two
minutes, Liam O’Connell twice popped up to
point for his side, to bring the difference
to just one point with quarter of an hour
played.
Despite having the slight advantage in terms
of the conditions in the half, Tara were
still struggling to get good ball forward.
Donnellan, with the exception of that early
run, was denied any ball, while Bobo had his
own half back line covered in a blanket-like
fashion, denying any low ball into the two
man full forward line of Paul Hehir and
Michael Hoey.
Eight minutes before the break, the
impressive Jim Ryan finally found a way to
beat the Brendans’ defence by simply
launching a shot from 40 yards out on the
left wing, that sailed sweetly between the
post, proving that when all else fails,
route-one is often the best course of
action.
And route-one should have been used far more
often by Tara. With Paul Hehir on the edge
of the square, there were always going to be
scraps falling from his high table, however,
with just two men in attack, the ball being
played in was generally to space, a ploy
that totally negated his effectiveness. The
days of Paul Hehir being interested in ball
into space have long since passed.
With just moments to go to half-time, Peter
McNally’s men turned the pressure gauge up
further on the favourites, when Leo Fallon
flicked a free from Killian Phair over his
head and between the posts, to reduce the
gap to just one at the break.
Going in at the interval, St Brendans would
have been the more content. Despite
trailing, they had seen all that Tara had to
offer and knew that any alterations that
were made would be to the detriment of the
team, rather than to improve things.
Certainly, all the big guns were on the
field of play from the start and there were
going to be no big impact substitutions for
them.
Inexplicably though, Tara did make changes
at the break and within those changes came
their total downfall in this game.
Paul Hehir, who had been so effective and
disciplined when left at full forward to do
what he can do so well in the semi-final,
was moved to midfield to join his brother
Senan, and with neither player looking
anywhere near one hundred per cent fit, it
was a move that had many scratching their
heads.
Worse still was the decision to send Darren
Gallagher into full forward, which in many
ways was like sending a poor Christian into
the Roman Colosseum that Malone, Cullen and
O’Hara had skilfully constructed around
Billy Molloy’s goal.
Paul Malone is a gladiator of a full back
and while still wiping the blood of Paul
Hehir from his sword, he was sent a less
threatening opponent; leaving the gladiator
merely to smile and carry on with his job.
In the realms of full backs currently
playing in London, Malone is without doubt
our very own Spartacus.
St Brendans remained unchanged and three
minutes after the restart, Phair hoisted
over a free kick from 30 yards to level
matters.
Ten minutes later, Tara managed their first
score in 24mins of playing time, when Hoey
landed his second of the day, but moments
later Limerick man Paddy Bowles pointed
another free after team captain, Adrian
Brett, had been fouled by the sticky Steve
Enright.
The frees were coming thick and fast for the
Brendans at this stage as the Tara seemed to
run out of legs and opted instead to try and
slow the game down to their pace.
When Phair collected the return from his own
short free 30 yards from goal and pointed,
the Brendans were ahead for the first time
and even with quarter of the game still to
play, it was very hard to see how Tara could
find their way out of the mess they had got
themselves into.
With star centre back Damien Healy now
operating deep in the full back line, that
element of class and composure that they had
in and around the middle of the field was
lost and instead they were left with no out
ball as St Brendans worked hard to close
space on them.
Brett landed his first of the game with less
than ten minutes to play and then another
monster point from Phair, this time from a
sideline ball fully forty metres from goal,
saw St Brendans three ahead and almost home
and dry.
Wave after wave of Tara attack descended on
the Brendans’ goal, but with thirteen men
behind the ball and with the Tara radar
being way off, there was no way through for
the men in green for the vital goal they
needed.
Hoey did manage another, this time after he
was set up by Jim Ryan, but Tara’s lack of
ideas and the superb quality of the
Brendans’ defence, ensured that it was Peter
McNally’s team that would be heading home
with their third senior football
championship.
Key to this win was the team ethic and work
rate of the Brendans. Defensively they were
almost faultless and into the bargain Liam
O’Connell landed two points from wing back.
What they may have lacked in size, they more
than made up for in quality, industry and
understanding of their roles.
Certainly the belief that a good big one is
better than a good small one was turned on
its head last Sunday.
The boyish Brendans’ midfield of Sean
McAlinden and Leo Fallon walked off the park
as men and the major question mark that hung
over both, as to their ability to go toe to
toe with the real serious guys, were firmly
answered.
In attack, Adrian Brett, despite just
scoring once, was a constant outlet for the
team and his work rate was phenomenal.
However, in the scoring stakes, it was
Killian Phair who stole the limelight with
three points.
Many had seen Phair earlier in the year and
felt that he was one of the next big things
coming through from St Mary’s; but an
indifferent end to the season had those same
analysts saying that he wasn’t up to senior
football just yet.
Given the fact that he is still under-21,
Phair can feel proud that he more than
answered his critics.
However, the two unsung heroes of this win
were Paddy Bowles and Simon “Bobo” Cullen
and between the two of them, they ploughed
their way through mountains of work.
Both have been with the club for several
seasons and neither has really ever been
able to claim the limelight. Last Saturday,
they more than made up for their previous
shortcomings.
As for Tara - well somewhere between the
semi-final and the final it all went wrong.
Despite adding to the team with the likes of
Jim Ryan and Senan Hehir, they looked less
of a team than they did against Tir Chonaill
Gaels.
Conor Beirne was solid for most of the game
and certainly more impressive late in the
match when he moved to centre back, while
Steve Enright did a commendable job on
Adrian Brett in the first half, holding the
Brendans’ skipper scoreless in that period.
Damien Healy was a disappointment in that he
had controlled things in the semi-final and
showed what a class player he is, but
somehow on Saturday, he was unable to really
stamp his authority on proceedings. Moving
him into the full back line in the second
half did little to add to his influence.
Midfield was a real problem. Senan Hehir and
Darren Gallagher started there and in the
second half Paul Hehir joined his brother in
the middle.
At no time did either pairing look
distinguished and with the exception of a
few catches from Senan, the midfield offered
nothing.
Slow to move the ball on and slow to join
the attack or defence, that area became the
domain of the Brendans’ two young guns.
Chris Donnellan was kept almost anonymous by
Fergal Greenan, but few of those who have
watched the Monaghan man over the past six
years will be surprised by that fact.
Described by his team-mate Paul Tierney as
the “best club footballer he had ever played
with”, Greenan proved beyond doubt that he
is a quality act.
Donnellan’s sole contribution of
significance to the game was the shot that
eventually led to Paul Hehir’s goal, and
aside from that, the Galway man was left
wandering like a polar bear around the
Artic, looking for some easy prey in melting
ice
Closer to goal, Michael Hoey did plunder
three points, but neither with the two man
attack they had in the first half , or the
three man effort they produced in the
second, did Tara look like they would
inflict any real damage on a very well
marshalled Brendans’ defence.
Scorers:
St Brendans: K Phair 0-3 (0-2f); L
O’Connell 0-2; P Bowles 0-2 (both frees); A
Brett 0-1; L Fallon 0-1.
Tara: P Hehir 1-0; M Hoey 0-3; J Ryan 0-1.
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