Tullamore grind out 29th title in dreadful conditions

THE scoreline doesn't tell any lies about a Senior Football Championship final played in dreadful conditions but that won't bother Tullamore one bit as they celebrate their 29th title after a fully deserved win over Ferbane in O'Connor Park.

Tullamore Court Hotel Senior Football Championship final

Tullamore 1-5

Ferbane 0-6

While the pretty dire quality of football on offer will be the abiding memory for many neutrals, there was a lot to admire in the way Tullamore won the title. They controlled the game in an almost quiet, understated way the whole way and never looked like losing while Ferbane never looked like winning it.

The conditions were a big contributory factor to the type of football that was played. Even on a good day, you would have expected only 1-10/1-11 to have won it but the dreadful weather was at least partially responsible for it being a good bit less than that.

We feared the worse when rain started to fall towards the end of the preceding Intermediate Football Championship final and got heavier between the games – and then persisted almost the whole way through. It turned it into a lottery and neither team adapted fully to the conditions with some players hopping the ball and then looking bemused when it didn't bounce up while others misjudged ball that skidded off the greasy surface.

If ever there was a day for letting the ball doing the work, this was it but both teams stuck to their game plan of trying to keep the ball and playing it safe. The focus was on retaining the ball but in these conditions, the volume of ball spilled and turned over was considerably higher than normal.

Yet it made for compelling, engrossing viewing. It may also have been painful at times and the groans from supporters at some of the football were almost audible but it was fascinating in an almost sadistic way. It was football at its most honest, completely human as every ball was contested fully and the players ran themselves into the ground.

It was one of those days where a moment of magic or a bad mistake would be telling. As it turned out, we had neither as both sides defended very well and worked so hard to keep their opponents out of the shooting zone.

As the scoreline suggests, it was a day for defenders, not forwards and you had to admire the way some of the front men worked when things were not falling right for them. In this regard, Ferbane's Joe Maher and Tullamore's Cormac Egan come to mind quickest as the weather didn't suit them but they fought with great tenacity for everything and ensured no ball came out softly – the football didn't flow for them, they were tightly shadowed but their work rate and perseverance set a template for team mates.

There were other forwards who will be trying to forget it quickly. For Ferbane, Ronan McGuire, David Nally and Darragh Flynn had been instrumental in them reaching the final but all three were replaced and the failure of the previously in-form Flynn to make any headway against the outstanding Declan Hogan was a factor in their downfall. Cian Johnson did provide a new focus when introduced and top scored with three points, two from play.

Tullamore's forwards didn't fare any better. Three of their five points came from the half back back line, Luke Plunkett was the only forward to score from play and no one managed more than a solitary score. That is an extraordinary statistic and it is very seldom a team will win a final with that type of return – in fact it looked like no player would get more than one score until Cian Johnson booted over a 61st minute free, followed three minutes later by their final score from play.

If you put the quality to one side and allow for the conditions, there was something very impressive about the way Tullamore controlled the game for such long periods and snuffed the life out of Ferbane. They could never relax for one second but they never panicked for a moment and there was never a feeling that they were going to let it slip. It was a very professional, workmanlike display and it was a display where these attributes were always going to be king.

Tullamore's big game most experienced players all did the business. Declan Hogan and Aaron Leavy were excellent at full back and midfield. Hogan never put a foot wrong and ensured that the Ferbane full forward line got no joy while Leavy got through a mountain of work at midfield. He may have looked ponderous on the ball on occasions but he really ran the midfield show and gave Tullamore a powerful foothold here. Michael Brazil put in a great shift at wing forward, moving out to midfield at times – now very much in the veteran bracket, the weather and game suited him but his work rate was phenomenal and he often broke tackles and the line.

Then there was John Furlong and the expectation that he would be man of the match if Tullamore won proved to be very accurate. He was the class act on the field, doing the simple thing so effectively, scoring a brilliant late point as well as being fouled for their last point at the end of extra time. Daire McDaid also put in a great defensive shift for Tullamore, carrying a lot of very good ball forward and there was absolutely no disputing the merit of Tullamore's win.

Ferbane just never got going. They tried so hard with Conor Butler, Leon Fox and Shane Nally really impressing in defence at different times but from here up they were in trouble. They were unable to break down Tullamore's defensive formation, some of their lighter players were always going to struggle in this weather and some of the stronger ones that came in couldn't create openings.

The game's crucial score was a 13th minute goal from Luke Plunkett, who finished very well after a terrific run and pass from Cormac Egan. That gave Tullamore a 1-2 to 0-1 lead. A black card for Oisin Keenan-Martin for an off the ball block in the 17th minute helped Ferbane to steady the ship but the game was won and lost in the ten minutes the champions were down a man. Tullamore were extremely competent in this period and the one point that Paddy Clancy kicked was two less than what Ferbane required.

A poor miss from a Harry Plunkett free meant that Tullamore only led by 1-2 to 0-3 at half time but it was still a very significant lead. Ferbane had pressed up high on Corey White's kickouts, forcing him to go long - there were a couple of times when he could have been penalised for delaying too long - and this worked to an extent but they struggled to create any sort of clear chances all day.

The second half was a real dogfight as the error count from both sides climbed higher. Scores were fierce hard earned and there were long dry spells. A Nigel Bracken point, deflected over by David Dunican, gave Tullamore a 1-3 to 0-4 lead after 37 minutes. Both sides had misses or ruined chances with mistakes and there was no score from the 37th to 57th minutes.

Nothing much happened either but that suited Tullamore perfectly as they kept a real tight grip on proceedings. There was a flash of excitement in the 54th minute when referee Chris Dwyer flashed red cards to Diarmuid Egan and Paddy Clancy but changed to yellows after talking to his umpires for a second time.

John Furlong's quality point gave Tullamore a 1-4 to 0-4 lead with three minutes left. As you would expect, Ferbane fought desperately. Furlong made a sensational diving block to stop Ciaran Cahill's drive getting in at Corey White and White then earned his keep with a fantastic save to deny Jack Clancy – it was called back for a free that Johnson tapped over.

Those were Ferbane's final goal chances but Cian Johnson's fisted 64th minute point brought it back to a point and there was still a glimmer of a replay. Instead, Tullamore defended well in the additional two minutes and a foul on John Furlong led to Michael Brazil's point from the closing kick of the ball.

MATCH ANALYSIS

MAN OF THE MATCH

John Furlong (Tullamore): John Furlong was avery worthy recipient of the TG4 man of the match. He oozed quality and composure, kept the centre so efficiently and got forward very well – he was in behind the Ferbane cover at one stage midway during the second half, screaming for the ball but Dan Fox didn't spot him and lofted a bad wide instead. He got that point, made that block and was instrumental in Tullamore's win – Declan Hogan was his closest contender while Aaron Leavy's midfield dominance was a great asset and Daire McDaid was also excellent. 

THE SCORERS

Tullamore: Luke Plunkett 1-0, Nigel Bracken, John Furlong, Oisin Keenan-Martin, Michael Brazil (f) and Luke Plunkett (f) 0-1 each.

Ferbane: Cian Johnson 0-3 (1f), Paddy Clancy, Jack Clancy and Joe Maher 0-3 each.

THE TEAMS

TULLAMORE: Corey White; Daire McDaid, Declan Hogan, Paul McConway; Nigel Bracken, John Furlong, Oisin Keenan-Martin; Aaron Leavy, Aaron Hensey; Michael Brazil, Diarmuid Egan, Harry Plunkett; Dan Fox, Luke Plunkett, Cormac Egan. Subs – Luke Egan for Harry Plunkett (HT), Jay Sheeran for Keenan-Martin (48m), Niall Furlong for Dan Fox (48m), Mike Fox for Diarmuid Egan (57m).

FERBANE: David Dunican; Conor Butler, Ciaran Cahill, Patrick Taaffe; Kevin Nugent , Leon Fox, Shane Nally; David Kelly, Paddy Clancy; David Nally, Jack Clancy, Cathal Flynn; Joe Maher, Ronan McGuire, Darragh Flynn. Subs – Cian Johnson for McGuire (HT), Conor Grennan for David Nally (40m), James Nally for Kelly (44m), Jack Egan for Darragh Flynn (47m), Stephen Wren for Cahill (61m).

Referee – Chris Dwyer (Clara).

REFEREE WATCH

It was a first senior final for Chris Dwyer, after many years of refereeing, including ones when he felt he should have got one. He justified his selection, handling the game professionally, dealing competently with any issues that arose and allowing for the wet underfoot conditions. It was a difficult game to referee in those conditions as he tried to balance penalising frees with allowing some sort of spectactle to emerge. There was a brief spell in the second half when it threatened to get away from him but ultimately, he got the balance right.

There was a huge moment seven minutes from time when Dwyer showed straight red cards to Diarmuid Egan and Paddy Clancy but then changed his mind and gave yellows after consulting again with his umpires. Egan and Clancy had tussled after Leon Fox put in a very heavy hit on Diarmuid's brother Cormac – it was a brave decision by the referee, not one that is often taken but it was also the correct one as red cards would have been very harsh.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

As the game entered the last ten minutes, Ferbane began to press for the goal they had to get. A sensational diving block by John Furlong on Ciaran Cahill followed moments later by Corey White's great save from Jack Clancy kept Ferbane out and were defining moments in Tullamore's win.

VENUE WATCH

The quality of the O'Connor Park pitch was demonstrated by the way it held up for this, the fifth game of the weekend – as the weather worsened, it did deterioriate considerably but that would happen any pitch in the country. There was a disappointingly small crowd here with the weather and live coverage on TG4 contributing to this.

WHAT'S NEXT

Tullamore are at home to the Meath champions in Leinsetr on October 21-22.

STATISTICS

Wides: Tullamore – 8 (3 in first half); Ferbane – 6 (3 in first half half).

Yellow cards: Tullamore – 3 (Aaron Leavy, Diarmuid Egan and Cormac Egan); Ferbane – 4 (James Nally, Paddy Clancy, Kevin Nugent and Cathal Flynn).

Black cards: Tullamore – 1 (Oisin Keenan-Martin); Ferbane – 0.

Red cards: 0.