London Div 1 League Final 2005
Class
pays dividends for Brendans
By
John Collins (Irish World)
St
Brendans 0-11
Tir
Chonaill Gaels 0-5
This
game was always going to be about Tir Chonaill
Gaels finding out just how far behind St
Brendans they are at present.
To
date this year, Pat McNabb’s team have been
the single most impressive unit in London
football, and whereas Parnells and the Gaels
have both flattered at times, they have also
deceived on other occasions. Conversely the
Brendans have seldom been less than impressive
and any dip in form has been more to do with
experimentation and squad rotation rather than
form or ability.
Tir
Chonaill Gaels are realists and always have
been. When their resources have dictated that
they could dare to dream heady dreams, they
have done so and gone about their business of
preparing and challenging to the best of their
ability, and when, as is the case now, they
have had more modest resources, then their
ambitions have taken a
lesser form and they have set out their
stall accordingly.
Currently
Maurice Carr and Paul Coggins know that they
have a decent collection of players but one
that is by no means complete and Sunday
provided just the information they needed to
confirm that they are going to have to be at
their very best in order to overcome St
Brendans in 2005.
So
just how far are Tir Chonaill Gaels behind St
Brendans at the moment? Well the scoreboard
would tell you that there are six points
between the teams - which is a fair gap in
anyone’s language - but anyone who was at
the match in Ruislip will tell you that it is
only half the story.
Without
wishing to be flippant about the game or
disrespectful about the quality of the Gaels team at present, let’s just have a look at the
gap in terms of distance…real distance. In
defence they are at least two yards behind the
St Brendans’ attack and also well behinds
them in their speed of thought and ability to
move into space.
Midfield
is again several yards off the pace, but given
the fact that the winners used that area of
the park to launch the footballing exorset
that is Shane McAnarney, then that particular
statistic is of no surprise whatsoever, and in
attack well there was clear daylight between
the Brendans’ back line and the efforts of
the Gaels forwards.
Other
little elements also helped display a serious
gap in class and ability. Niall Clinton won
the free-taking showdown hands-down against an
out of sorts JP Boyle, who has been the
shining light and the hoped-for Messiah for
the Gaels’ season so far.
In
and around the breaking ball, St Brendans were
again kings, while in their general game plan,
it was telepathic between the winner’s
fifteen, while mundane and predictable and
often poorly executed by the Gaels.
The
most startling gap though was in work-rate,
especially in the forward line. Where St
Brendans, led by Adrian Brett, never allowed
any Gaels’ defender to settle on the ball,
all too often their Brendans counter-parts in
defence had time and space to pick their pass.
In
simple terms, the gap was a chasm.
Early
on St Brendans announced their intentions with
a superb wind-assisted blitz attack on the
Gaels’ goal. McAnarney hit an early wide and
then “super-boot” Niall Clinton announced
his return to the Ruislip arena with two
converted frees, both for fouls perpetrated by
JP Breslin.
Adrian
Brett, the outstanding attacker of the season
to date for St Brendans, then made it three
after the winner’s forward line had hassled
the Gaels’ defence into a corner from which
they could only give the ball away, and then
Clinton hit his third free from the ground
when he pointed from 30 yards after a foul by
Hugh Cunningham on the dynamic Shane Manley.
The
Louth kicking machine upped his total to four
for the game in the first quarter of an hour
with another free, this time a simple tap over
from 14 yards following a foul by Mick Kelly
on Liam O’Connell.
At
this stage the Gaels were obviously
struggling. Their only attack of note was an
effort from Eamon Sweeney that just sailed
wide of Billy Molloy’s upright and aside
from that, their only real contribution was to
the Niall Clinton benevolent fund as they
continued to concede silly scoreable frees.
Finally
they started to get some possession through
but sadly the finish wasn’t there. After two
wides from Andy Gallagher and another from
Sweeney, Danny O’Connor, who had earned the
nod over county star Barry Solan,
got his first of the day after feeding
off a ball that Brett had been first to react
to.
Brett
then got in on the act with a great score that
was set up by a clever break and enter-change
between Martin Gill and Manley from midfield
and at this stage the Gaels were reeling.
Joe
Corscadden then made it 8-0 as half time
approached after being set up by Brett and
McAnarney and just as the break approached and
the losers introduced Paddy McConigley, the
Gaels found their range with a point from JP
Boyle, to leave the half time score at 8-1,
although Boyle did have the opportunity to
miss his second free of the half just before
that break.
The
start of the second half was always going to
be crucial to the Gaels and with the wind at
their backs it was critical that they got a
decent start.
Hugh
Cunningham led the way from the back with a
point straight after the re-start and then
moments later Boyle found his free scoring
range with a converted effort.
Sweeney,
who had missed twice in the first half, then
scored a great point from play from thirty
five yards and as the Gaels gathered momentum,
St Brendans found the perfect levee to any red
and white tidal wave, when first Shane Manley
pointed and then Clinton added another free
from 35 yards to increase the difference again
to six points.
Wide
followed wide over the next ten minutes or so
and even the introduction of Barry McDonagh
for his first significant appearance of the
season to date couldn’t help the Gaels’
cause.
Francie
Cleary scored a fine individual score but that
was quickly answered by McAnarney again after
receiving a great pass from Manley with five
minutes still to play.
Eamon
Sweeney hit another wide and Barry McDonagh
had a close range effort well saved by Billy
Molloy’s feet, but the route to goal and a
potential grandstand finish was well blocked
by the Brendans’ defence and when the final
whistle went, Pat McNabb’s team were
comfortable and deserved six-point winners.
Their
skipper Paul Tierney was immaculate throughout
and almost four years to the day since he
broke his leg against the Gaels in a
Championship Final; he was able to mark the
completion of his recovery by captaining the
side to their second League title in a row.
Likewise,
his fellow members of the full back line
Ciaran Conway and Aiden McLernon were superb,
while the half back unit of Fergal Greenan,
Martin Gill and Joe Corscadden were faultless
too.
Midfield
struggled in the air but won hands down when
it came to speed and stamina, while the entire
forward line played roles of significance.
The
defining statistic of the attack was that both
Barry Solan and Eric Reilly were left on the
sideline until the dying moments: strength in
depth indeed.
For
the Gaels they struggled in many places. Eamon
Sweeney was a willing worker and fetcher but
lacked support in possession and on other
occasions he just made the wrong decision.
Hugh
Cunningham had a decent hour on the dangerous
Manley and Andy Gallagher tried hard but
received little support, while Paddy
McConigley made a huge impression when
introduced for the second half.
All
in all the Gaels are a fair way off the pace
but that’s not to say that should the same
two teams meet again in the Championship that
things wouldn’t be different.
There
is potential in the Gaels, its just that St
Brendans are already fulfilling theirs.
Scorers:
St
Brendans: N Clinton 0-5 (all frees);
A Brett 0-2; D O’Connor, S Manley, J
Corscadden, S McAnarney (all 0-1).
Tir
Chonaill Gaels: JP Boyle 0-2 (0-1f);
H Cunningham, F Cleary, E Sweeney (0-1 each).
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