Plenty of positives for Brigid's when pain of defeat subsides
By Kevin Egan
St Brigid’s controlled the game, but Glen owned the big moments.
When it was a game of football, St Brigid’s demonstrated control, skill execution, presence of mind, and everything else that they would have wanted to bring to Croke Park last Sunday. Their downfall was when it became about something more. Once the Andy Merrigan Cup loomed into view, they stuttered and stumbled, and once there was disorder and emotion, Glen were in their element.
All afternoon long, Glen tried to force things to happen, to turn this contest into one of those typical Ulster battles where it’s about life, death, identity, blood, culture, and everything else. Everything and anything, other than the simple matter of trying to put a football between two sets of posts more often than the other team.
The signs were there early on that Glen wanted to get St Brigid’s out of their rhythm – and more often than not, it backfired. Perhaps the Ulster champions confused Brigid’s disinterest in ‘laying down markers’ with a type of softness, when in fact the Roscommon flag bearers have no deficiencies in that area, they just understand that their advantage is maximized by engaging in a different sphere.
When it came to shooting, the contrast between the two sides couldn’t have been starker. St Brigid’s shot just two wides in total – one at the end of the first half from Ronan Stack, when the veteran probably knew that he was out of his range, but there weren’t any better options – and then again at the end, when Shane Cunnane had no choice but to try and kick the equalising score with what he knew would be the last play of the game.
Ben O’Carroll did hit the post with one shot while there were a couple of efforts dropped short and a couple more blocked down, but all in all, St Brigid’s took the right shots, and executed well.
Glen were a model of desperation, by comparison. Malachy O’Rourke’s side has depended on a spread of scorers, in no small part because they simply didn’t have an inspirational forward line that was packed with elite talent. Ciarán McFaul was definitely rattled as he fired four wides of his own, but several of his colleagues were guilty of equally poor efforts, and it was no surprise that Conor Glass frequently referenced shot selection as a serious downfall in his post-match interview. If he had been given access to team stats, no doubt he would have spoken about two scores from 12 attempts in the third quarter as the period where they really lost their way in front of the posts, in no small part because of the consistently energetic and measured defensive work of St Brigid’s.
Even the absolutely crucial second half point from Michael Warnock that cut the gap from four points to three was a low-percentage effort, a right-footed kick from the right wing that could easily have sailed harmlessly wide, like so many others before it.
As had been the case all year, discipline was St Brigid’s friend, and they heaped further pressure on Glen shooters by keeping their nerve in the tackle and not allowing the northerners to build up their tally through handy frees.
Even when it came to kickouts, St Brigid’s were working with a deficiency in the sense that they didn’t have anyone who could live with the imperious Glass in the air, but for long stretches they managed this by keeping the ball away from him, aided in no small part by Ruaidhrí Fallon stepping up to play a key role in this battleground sector. Nobody would reasonably suggest that St Brigid’s “won” this particular battle – they were always too overmatched to ever make that a possibility – but they mitigated enough to ensure that coming into the closing minutes, they had overcome this shortfall.
Here too, it was notable that the composure involved in making this happen disintegrated in the closing minutes. When Glen took the lead through Emmet Bradley’s free, that was a moment when St Brigid’s needed possession – instead the restart was sent long, into Glass’ sector. The former Australian Rules man duly punched the ball back to where it came from, allowing Conleth McGuckian to kick a crucial score to double the lead.
Throughout the game, that was the pattern. St Brigid’s did things right for the most part, they controlled the tempo and flow of the game, and they put the ball where it needed to go – but when they fell off those high standards for brief moments, Glen made them pay. Whether it was Ben O’Carroll’s shot straight at Connlan Bradley after Ruaidhrí Fallon set him up with just the keeper to beat, Pearse Frost’s ever-so-slight misjudgement of the floated pass that led to the first-half goal, or the calamity of errors that came together to allow Glass to level the game in the game in the second half, it felt as if Brigid’s paid a heavy price for those few moments, here and there, where they showed brief signs of fallibility.
All of this leads to the question that will be on everyone’s lips around Kiltoom, Brideswell, Curraghboy and Cam in the coming weeks and months – what needs to happen for this St Brigid’s group to emulate their predecessors from 2011/2013, i.e. to get back to another final and to go one step better the next time around.
In one sense, a different match up would suit them. St Brigid’s trump card all year was Brian Stack’s ability to lock down the leading forward for pretty much every team. Brian Hurley caused him problems, but outside of that, he was a lockdown defender – and against Glen, that skill wasn’t needed, as there was no single attacker on the Watty Graham’s side that carried the bulk of their scoring workload. Danny Tallon didn’t score, but Glen didn’t need him, or any other player, to score three or four from play to win the game.
However aside from the natural development that is likely to come from a starting team where a 26-year-old Brian Stack is the third oldest player on the starting team, there are other likely causes for optimism, and we’re not even including the rumours that one current Roscommon intercounty player is set to transfer into the club.
First and foremost are the two men who were probably the leading contenders for Man of the Match, if St Brigid’s had held on – Pearse Frost and Ruaidhrí Fallon.
Fallon’s development since he has returned from playing rugby has been incredible, and while his remarkable point towards the end of the first half will dominate the highlight reels, his work in setting up two crucial scoring chances that were missed – Ben O’Carroll’s goal effort and Shane Cunnane’s free at the death – sum up his power and his influence. If Brigid’s are to find a Conor Glass-type figure of their own, he could be that man.
When Brian Stack was first deployed in the full-back line for club and county, it was because of the dearth of options for that role. Would that decision have been taken, if Pearse Frost was around then? He too has made a strong case for being the most improved player in Roscommon in 2023, starting from a base where he wouldn’t have been a nailed-on starter for the senior team, to where he is now, a likely starter for Roscommon once he settles into the panel.
However, there are other positive signs. It’s looking more and more like Brian Derwin will evolve into a player for the half-forward line, which will free up a spot inside for Bobby Nugent, where he looks more at home. Luke Griselain, Seán Trundle and John Cunningham are just three players among several who showed enough this year to suggest that they have bigger roles to play.
When we consider the base that St Brigid’s are starting from - able to be the better team in an All-Ireland final for all bar a few key moments - it’s a happy place to be.