London
Senior Championship Final 1994
Brendan's enjoy
maiden voyage.
By Peter Carberry
(The Irish Post 6/8/94).
St Brendan's 1-9
Tara 1-6
A
new name appeared on the roll of London Senior
Football Champions at Ruislip on Sunday last;
as St. Brendan's held off a late Tara
challenge to make up for the disappointment of
being beaten finalists in 1990 and 1993. They
may had been slight underdogs going into this
final, but Paddy Corscadden’s men fully
deserved their victory based on solid team
play rather than individual brilliance.
It
may have been billed the friendly final prior
to the throw in, but referee Mick Gibbon had
to book five players in the opening half -
three from St Brendan's - as a combination of
flowing adrenalin and a need to impose
themselves on their direct opponents led to a
number of over-physical challenges.
Tara
remained the more nervy, frantic side in the
opening twenty minutes, finding it hard to
string more than two passes together in the
drizzle and in the face of some prodigious
work at centre field from Sean Woods. They
trailed from Enda Roche’s second minute
point but were really knocked back on their
heels by a freak goal at the end of the first
quarter.
Goalkeeper
Brian Hoban collected a harmless through ball
on the edge of his square and attempted to
clear to the right flank only to see the
diving Tom Nolan block his kick and deflect
the ball over the line. The whole incident
appeared to be played out in slow motion and
the Tara were still a yard off the pace when
Gabriel O’Neill pointed a minute later to
increase the Brendan's advantage.
At
least it shook the Tara out of their lethargy
and they proceeded to enjoy their best spell
of the game. Jim Cafferty opened their account
from 35 yards, a prelude to the
much-anticipated burst from danger man Ollie
Murphy. The corner forward ran on to a superb
defence splitting ball from Richie Haran and,
faced with a one-on-one showdown with John
Collins almost broke the net with his shot.
Five
minutes later we could have been transported
to a scene being played out concurrently in
Croke Park as the Meathman, fouled by Dubliner
John McCormack, picked himself up to convert
his own free from hands and level the score.
It
looked as if the Tara would take the lead for
the first time when a slip from Peer Dalton
left two forwards with a free run at goal and
when Stephen Lynch eventually managed a
snapshot, Collins was able to pull off a vital
block. The
ball was cleared to the other end of the field
and Hoban was given the chance to make amends
for his earlier mistake. Depriving Roche of a
certain goal at the expense of a point.
Scores
at either end by Lynch and Gary Fearon, the
latter on his first excursion into enemy
territory from the half back line, left St Brendan's
defending a slender 1-4 to 1-3 half time
advantage.
A
woeful free form Joe Harte after the
resumption cost Tara an equaliser and was made
more expensive by a good point soon after from
centre forward Tom Nolan, but Harte had better
luck six minutes later when he finished off
the best move of the match following good work
from Jack Haran, Mick Hesnan, and Paul Mallon.
At
this juncture it was clear that Tara were
struggling to make an impression up front,
where McCormack and centre back Tommy
McDermott, were clearing up with little
difficulty. Senan Hehir, who had turned out
for London minors the day before in Kilkenny,
looked tired and out of touch at centre
forward and even his move to the full forward
line after a substitution failed to pay off as
St Brendan's turned the screw with four points
in six minutes.
Nolan’s
second score was followed by Roche’s third,
a wicked, hopping shot that bounced over Hoban
and only just cleared the crossbar. Sean
Mulchrone switch from midfield to full forward
placed him in the ideal position to punch over
Gabriel O’Neill’s flighted free and when
substitute Joe Stack pointed a needlessly
conceded free with ten minutes remaining, St Brendan's
had for the second time opened up a healthy
five point advantage.
Tara
would have been down at this stage had it not
been for the efforts of Mick Hesnan at centre
field. The big number eight, who just shaded
team mates Niall Hayes and Jack Hara for the
AIB man of the match award, really started to
dominate the last quarter, plucking high balls
put of the air almost at will, holding off
determined challengers from all angles and
showing the skill to deliver quick and
intelligent ball that set up attack after
attack.
That
Tara failed to wipe out the full deficit was
down to a degree of panic and inexperience
among their forwards, who wasted the Monaghan
man’s work and squandered chance after
chance. Murphy and second half substitute did
manage to bring the margin down to a single
goal, but nothing else went on target over the
final five minutes. A tally of ten wides to
three tells its own story.
Beaten
finalists in 1993, St Brendan's obviously
benefited from having had that big match
experience and they were far more economical
with their finishing.
“We
were in a similar position last year”
victorious captain Gary Fearon told the Tara
players in his speech from the balcony.
“Nothing I can say now would be of
consolation to you, but you know what you are
capable of doing over the three or four
years”
Learn
from your mistakes was the inference and you
too could be standing up here next year.
Teams.
St
Brendan's: John Collins Tyrone, Peter Dalton Carlow, John
McCormack Dublin, Conor Drayne Tyrone;
Gary Fearon
Armagh (0-1), Tommy
McDermott Donegal, Philip Cleary
Derry; Sean Woods Monaghan,
Sean Mulchrone Mayo (0-1);
Gabriel O’Neill Antrim (0-1),
Tom Nolan Carlow (1-2), Phelim
O’Neill Armagh; Ned Hayden Carlow,
Enda Roche Wexford
(0-3), Stephen Hughes Roscommon.
Subs.
Joe Stack Cork (0-1) for Hayden 30min;
Frankie Gallagher Donegal for Hughes 54min.
Tara:
Brian Hoban, Anthony Gibbons, Pat Rafter,
Niall Hayes; Ciaran Quinn, Joe Darcy, Jack
Haran; Mick Hesnan, Paul Mallon; Joe Harte
(0-1), Senan Hehir, Jack Haran (0-1); Ollie
Murphy (1-1), Jim Cafferty (0-2), Stephen
Lynch.
Subs:
Paul Diamond (0-1) for Cafferty 42
min; Declan Carroll for Harte 47 min,
Mick Scanlon for Lynch 50 min
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