Brigid’s fancied to advance but Pearses face tougher test

By Kevin Egan

Making a case for Roscommon Gaels in Saturday's Roscommon SFC semi-final against St Brigid’s involves dipping heavily into the pool of sporting clichés.

They’ve now salvaged results in three very tight finishes in a row, so they’ve got a good winning habit and some might even claim that “their name is on the cup”. Frankie Dolan’s presence at the helm of the county town club should certainly give their players an extra scrap of insight. Finally, let’s not forget how there isn’t a club team in Ireland that doesn’t deeply believe that “being the underdog suits us”.

All of which is fine, except that in terms of footballing quality, the Gaels have to find a level that they simply haven’t been able to touch this year if they’re to test St Brigid’s this Saturday (Dr Hyde Park, 3pm). While everyone loves a fairytale in sport, the reason such tales are so memorable is because just like every other aspect of life, Goliath still comes out on top more than 90% of the time.

As for their year so far, the loss of Richard Hughes in the immediate aftermath of their O’Rourke Cup final win was expected to be a devastating blow, but it was all forgotten about when the Gaels went up to Boyle and ransacked the home side with six goals in their first 30 minutes of championship football.

Time for context. Boyle experimented on that day with Enda Smith at centre-back, and while no-one would ever question Smith’s credentials as a footballer, he was both unfamiliar with and unsuited to that role. Most of the Gaels’ goals came from spilling through the middle, and not even the most optimistic supporter of the club would expect that they have a chance of doing the same through a defence built around Brian Stack and Ruaidhrí Fallon along the spine.

Since then they’ve scrapped out a draw with Western Gaels, albeit in dreadful conditions, needed an injury time penalty to beat St Faithleach’s, and rode their luck to beat Oran on penalties. Winning ugly is a great skill that all champions must have, but it’s also something that champions use sparingly. A boxer that wins every fight in the style of Rocky will eventually find himself on the canvas.

If there are concerns about Brigid’s, they centre on that they’ve had three very comfortable games en route to this fixture, and there is a lack of heft in their forward division. Neither Mark Daly nor Brian Derwin has been able to nail down a consistent starting spot to plug that gap, and particularly if the weather comes against them, an attack that depends on Ben O’Carroll, Bobby Nugent and Ciarán Sugrue for scores won’t be at its best.

A club like St Brigid’s will have had access to too many good challenge games for the “soft run” issue to be a real concern, however, and while their attack would be blunted in soft, wintry conditions, players like Peter Gillooly and Cian Connolly won’t relish a damp, dour dogfight either.

No matter what way you look at this, once you leave the clichés behind, Goliath still looks like a strong favourite.

Verdict: St Brigid’s.

Pádraig Pearses vs Boyle

When the dust settled at the end of round one of this year’s championship, it was impossible to accurately assess the wellbeing of Pádraig Pearses, since there was a real tinge of shadowboxing from their clash with St Brigid’s.

Boyle, however, looked to be in crisis after Roscommon Gaels pillaged six first-half goals at the Abbey Park. By the end of round two, Pearses’ younger players had just put in a stellar performance to blow Michael Glavey's out of the water, and while Boyle picked up the win they needed against St Faithleach’s, they also rode their luck considerably in Ballyleague that day. Add in an injury to Seán Purcell before the start of round three, and there was no obvious reason to believe that this Boyle group had the beating of Pearses.

Fast forward to this week, and the prognosis is very different. Pearses fell over the line against St Dominic’s, they started well against West Roscommon but were uninspiring for nearly 50 minutes of the tie, and meanwhile Boyle have exploded into life. All-Star nominee Enda Smith is dominating games, Cathal Feely was man of the match against Clann na nGael, while Oisín Cregg, Tadhg McKenna and Luke Glennon have all found form and are doing their part to ensure that Boyle’s perception as a defensive sieve is being dismissed.

Of course, the thing about form is that it can change, and there is a psychological element to matches between this pair of clubs that makes this even more interesting. Pearses’ win over Boyle in the 2019 semi-final was a remarkable fixture at the time, both for how it cemented Pearses’ reputation as a fearsome group that wouldn’t take a backward step, but also how it birthed a sense of grievance in the Boyle camp at the manner in which they were eliminated.

The following year’s group game at Woodmount saw Boyle play like men possessed, perhaps too much so, as Pearses were able to salvage a result from 12 points down after Enda picked up a red card.

Both clubs are under new management since then, and both clubs have refreshed their playing panels considerably, to the point that anything from 12 to 14 starters from that day won’t start this Sunday’s clash (Dr Hyde Park, 4pm) – but it still looms large as the backdrop to this game.

Boyle could have as few as seven players that started that game on the field when the ball is thrown in this weekend, yet for them in particular, the psychological aspect of this game is hugely relevant. A ferocious war of attrition where Cian Smith’s men look to ‘set the tone’ by being seen to take no backward step doesn’t suit them, and yet mentally, if the perception is that you’ve been bossed around the place in this fixture, it’s hard to resist the urge to prove a point.

In chaotic game, the game-breaking speed of Jack Tumulty, the quarterback type play of Hubert Darcy and the ball control that Pearses can bring to bear in the middle third will prevail. Boyle need to keep the tempo high, keep the scoreboard moving, and to create more one-on-one battles, rather than crowded exchanges.

On the basis that they’ve ticked those boxes in their last two games, Boyle get an ever-so-hesitant nod here.

Verdict: Boyle.