A devastating blow for Killererin — and Galway

Big Match analysis by JIM CARNEY St Brigid's .....2-14 Killererin ......1-10 (after extra-time) SPORT, like life, can be savagely cruel. This AIB Connacht Club Championship title defeat for Killererin at Tuam Stadium last Sunday was a bitter pill for the proud Galway champions to [private][private]swallow. It wasn't only heartbreaking; it brutally damaged the spirit too, maybe beyond repair. Time is a great healer, it's said, but not always. There is nothing, neither clichés nor the most heartfelt sentiments, that will be of any consolation this week to Killererin's gutted players, management, club officers and their mighty army of ever-loyal supporters from every house in the parish. The stark, incriminating facts are already so well-known that they are included here only for the sake of recording them. In the second of the two minutes added on for injuries, and leading by three points 1-8 to 0-8, Killererin were playing out time, 'winding down the clock' as it's called in sport, but instead of taking the ball up the wings they conceded a free in the middle, inside their own half of the field, and so the door was suddenly open for the Roscommon champions to try for a last-gasp match-saving goal. Astonishingly, although the St Brigid's scoring well had nearly dried up â€â€ their 'bad' wides in this final were much worse than Killererin's â€â€ they suddenly discovered that fate was about to deal them one last great hand of cards: Frankie Dolan's beautifully flighted free into the Killererin goalmouth was flicked to the net by young forward Cathal McHugh, with a very skilful overhead connection. The N.U.I.G. student McHugh, an All-Ireland Minor medal winner with Roscommon in 2006, knew what he was doing and it was to his immense credit that he seized the moment so cleverly and so brilliantly, but from Killererin's point of view it was a bad goal to give away. It was all too loose in there; nobody seemed to be calling the shots and making sure the house was safe, with the front door bolted. The ball was in the Killererin net! The scoreboard was changed: it was now 1-8 to 1-8. Next came the final whistle, and it went to two ten-minute periods of extra-time. Stunned by this massive setback, and only human â€â€ they're not machines â€â€ Killererin played out extra-time on reduced power. Another St Brigid's goal soon killed the game as a contest. Again attacking at the town end of the pitch, the Kiltoom/Cam club went into overdrive and with the outside of his right boot Damien Kelleher floated a superb head-high pass to full-forward Senan Kilbride, lurking dangerously just to the right of the Killererin goal, and he was coolness personified as he flicked it with the palm of his right hand past goalkeeper Alan Keane. The drama didn't end there: Killererin may have gone from three points up to three points down but they then created a goal opportunity for their young right full-forward Micheál Boyle, from point-blank range. It appeared he only had to get his boot to the ball to hit what would have been a fantastic equaliser, but somehow he couldn't make a connection and the ball fell away from him. At the time it looked a nailed-on penalty for a combination of a push and foot-block from the Killererin attacker's right-hand side, but repeated viewing of the TG4 coverage reveals an authentic doubt. This was a big, big call that referee Frank Flynn may have been correct in how he ruled, as it was not certain that the Roscommon tackler, Garvan Dolan, pushed his man and it definitely wasn't a footblock as Micheál Boyle didn't actually kick the ball although he clearly made an attempt to kick it. Where a doubt does come in, and our staff photographer Ray Ryan's pictures on this page are fascinating, is the question than can legitimately be asked: did the St Brigid's man stick in his left leg in such a way that the Killererin man was illegally prevented from kicking the ball? Or did he do it in such a way that it wasn't illegal? It needs a study of the rules to call that one definitively, I believe; and we'll return to it here next week, simply because it's a big talking-point, although it cannot affect the outcome: St Brigid's are the Connacht champions again. Before going away from the 'penalty' incident, one other thought: Perhaps Micheál Boyle was too honest, in standing up to the tackle coming at him. In soccer, he'd have instantly taken a dive, like a swimmer off a clifftop, and he'd surely have tempted the referee to make his call the other way and give a penalty. The Killererin forward was grounded a few seconds later, but by then the ref was waving play on. The Galway champions were one point up at half-time, 1-3 to 0-5, with the goal coming in the 16th minute after Tomás Fahy found Padraic Joyce who drove the ball into the danger zone and left full-forward Gerard Butler was alert, cool, strong and clinical in slamming the breaking ball low to the St Brigid's net. It was a badly needed score for the Barnaderg men, for the Rossies had started very well and were 4-1 up by the 12th minute, with Frankie Dolan lively for them on the '40' and county star Karol Mannion influential at midfield, as always. Late in the half, Mannion, a classy footballer, slipped into full-forward and back-punched a great point from a hanging delivery. Although Killererin managed to get Padraic Joyce on the ball, close to the St Brigid's goal, several times in the third quarter the return didn't match the danger he posed. From one great ball in by Jonathan Keane, Padraic hit a trademark beauty off his left from the right corner but later he got only a 45 from a goal opportunity â€â€ Alan Keane went upfield to point the 45 â€â€ and a few other things didn't work out for Padraic Joyce at crucial times, but in fairness he continued to work very hard, as always, day in day out, year after year after year. It was a strange second half in many ways: St Brigid's added only three points to their interval tally and at times it appeared, for all their undoubted individual quality, that they couldn't do anything right. The Galway champions' defence, so brave and defiant all year, were even better here â€â€ those six Barnaderg backs played their hearts out; they were magnificent. And Alan Keane had contributed a huge score with that superbly struck 45. No doubt about it, Killererin should have won it from there. The big mistake they made was this: they wanted to keep it tight and hold out in a tight finish. They'd have been happy to lead by one point going into injury-time; they were perhaps a little too loose leading by three, and a great chance to make it four was put wide. They erred, surely, in not building on the great work put in by their six backs; it could easily have been a four, five or six-point lead in the final ten minutes. Even Nicholas Joyce, by a mile the best striker in the county this year, was playing back the field in that second half, which must have puzzled the St Brigid's defence, but they wouldn't have been complaining about it. The way Killererin operate, it works best when the supply line to the danger zone leads from Padraic to Nicky, not the other way around â€â€ ever! It is hard to credit that from two minutes into injury-time to the end of extra-time, St Brigid's outscored Killererin by 2-6 to 0-2. So, St Brigid's did it to Galway again! They shocked Killererin before; they shocked Corofin too, and this was the Three-in-a-Row. In fairness to Killererin, let us say in all sincerity that they are great Galway champions but this was a bitterly disappointing day for them. And not only that, it was ominous for Galway, too. For all the entertainment we've had on the football fields this year, nobody can truthfully say they've seen top-class new talent coming through for the county senior team. For the record, St Brigid's will play the Munster champions (Dr Croke's, Killarney or Nemo Rangers, Cork) in the All-Ireland semi-finals in February. St Brigid's:  P. Martin; R. Kelly, D. Donnelly (0-1), N. Grehan, captain; G. Cunniffe (0-1), P. Domican, I. Kilbride; G. Dolan (0-1), K. Mannion (0-1); Cathal McHugh (1-1), F. Dolan (0-3, one free), D. Dolan (0-1); Conor McHugh (0-1), S. Kilbride (1-1), D. O'Connor (0-1). Subs., D. Kelliher (0-1), for Conor McHugh (31 mins); E. Sheehy (0-1), for O'Connor (50 mins); D. Nestor, for Cunniffe (74 mins); R. Blaine, for D. Dolan (76 mins); G. Aherne, for F. Dolan (76 mins). Killererin: A. Keane (0-1, a 45); D. Flaherty, C. Forde, D. Kelly, captain; I. Reddington, D. Mannion (0-1), T. Fahy; T. Joyce, T. Hughes; T. Flynn, N. Joyce (0-2, frees), J. Keane; M. Boyle (0-1), P. Joyce (0-5, one free), G. Butler (1-0). Subs., T. Wilson, for Butler (46 mins); J. Hughes, for Wilson (71 mins). Referee: Francis Flynn (Leitrim). Herald Sport Man of the Match: Ian Kilbride (St Brigid's). [gallery link='file'] [/private]