LONDON SFC SEMI FINAL 2006

Parnells hoodoo goes on

By John Collins (Irish World)

St Brendans.................0-7

Parnells........................0-5

Parnells’ fifteen-year quest for a London Senior Football Championship final appearance continues after they lost their sixth London semi-final in succession to St Brendans at a windswept and soggy Ruislip on Sunday last.

Going in at half-time three-points ahead, having played with the aid of a strong breeze in the first half, Parnells failed to register a single score in the second half.

Football was never going to be the decisive factor in this game, with the focus very much being centred on the determination of the two sets of players. In this instance, the men in green had  more grit than their opponents.

In the first half, the Brendans defended with the greater determination and if truth be told, intelligence as well. While in the second half, their forwards worked hard for the few opportunities that came their way and were successful in converting enough to win the game. However,  to say that they were clinical would be to give them more credit than they deserved.

In a game in which referee Beano Collins opted to allow the play to flow where possible and made allowance for the almost impossible under-foot conditions, both teams tried as hard as they could to stay within the parameters of the laws of the game.

In fairness to both of sides, the few clashes that did take place could be quite easily filed under the accidental or unintentional category as opposed to the deliberate and cynical - for that fact, both teams deserve credit.

It took over ten minutes of play before Colm Fuller broke the deadlock for Parnells after Bryan Foley and Nathan Kane had combined to set up the former Garryowen man. Three minutes later, the same player was set up by Michael Bowler for his second of the game as Parnells finally came to terms with the tricky underfoot conditions and the strong wind.

However, key to this Brendans’ victory was the fact that they did not allow the Parnells to totally bully the half and on 17mins Joe Corscadden drove over after Evan Byrne had failed to grab a high centre from Adrian Brett.

A foul by Liam O’Connell on the busy Fuller presented a chance for David O’Sullivan to convert from a free which he did with ease from 25 metres. Once again though, St Brendans displayed that doggedness with another point, this time from their key man in attack, Brett, after a great inter-change between Corscadden and Paul Tierney.

Despite the determination shown by the Brendans, it was Parnells who were to have the final say in the half.

Firstly O’Sullivan converted another free, this time from 40 metres and then Tadgh O’Callaghan scored what turned out to be the best score of the match, after running on to a pass from Fuller .

Sadly for Parnells though, the best also proved to be the last and their half time tally of 0-5 was also their full time total. Therein lay the cause of this defeat.

The injured Morgan Flaherty made an appearance at the interval for the men in blue as he replaced the ineffective Michael Blower, but the Parnells could make little or no progress in the second half.

Quickly St Brendans set about the business of clawing back the deficit when first Killian Phair converted after being set up by the busy Martin Gillespie. Soon after  Brett pointed after a long ball from the very impressive Paul Malone at full back was played on to Brett by Phair and the Sligo man drove over.

Soon Paddy Bowles was in on the act with another point and just five minutes after the re-start the Brendans were back on level terms at 0-5 apiece.

Play got bogged down as both teams attempted to try and gain the advantage again and while St Brendans created chances, they somehow managed to spurn most of them.

Parnells appeared to have lost their way out of their own midfield as move after move broke down by over-playing short ball in the middle sector.

St Brendans’ skipper Adrian Brett finally found a way back between the sticks with a  point after Simon Cullen had played a pass though to him with 15mins still to play. Five minutes later, Bowles landed his second of the game in a move once again started by Malone from full back and this time involving Fergal Greenan, a score that put St Brendans two ahead.

As was to be expected, last year’s beaten finalists sat back trying to protect their lead and thankfully for them, all that Parnells could muster were a series of high and hopeful balls into the Brendans’ goal area.  Even when the Parnells were given scoring chances through frees, they failed to take advantage of them.

While this is by no means the best Brendans team of the last five years, they still proved that they had the character and the know-how of how to go about winning a tight match.

The fact that this game was played at all, given the condition of the pitch last week and the week that followed, was something of a miracle and character was always going to be a decisive factor in determining who would come out on top.

Parnells on this occasion were lacking not just character but also football savvy, and the combination of the two of them left them scoreless in the second half.

Of the few that showed any sort of will-to-win, only Bryan Foley, Nathan Kane and Colm Fuller really prove their worth in the game. On the other hand, few of the Brendans players failed to front up in some respect.

Simon Cullen, playing deep in his own half in the first period, was a destructive force on the Parnells’ attacks and also a creative influence when his team started to attack against the wind.

Full back Paul Malone was plain and simply a beast of a man against the very powerful Ronan O’Connor on the edge of the Brendans’ square, while the half back line, made up of club stalwarts Liam O’Connell, Fergal Greenan and Paul Tierney, proved to be the most capable line on the field between both teams.

Martin Gillespie worked hard at half forward, while the star man on the pitch was undoubtedly Adrian Brett, who displayed both fantastic balance and movement in difficult conditions as well as great finishing power when the opportunities presented.

Had Parnells had a player of Brett’s ability, then the likelihood is that they could well have finally have broken that 15-year hoodoo that is haunting them at present.

Scorers:

St Brendans: A Brett 0-3; P Bowles 0-2; J Corscadden 0-1; K Phair 0-1.

Parnells: D O’Sullivan 0-2 (both frees); T O’Callaghan 0-1; C Fuller 0-2.

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