St Brigid's celebrate rare double with sweet victory in parish derby
Brosna Press Division 3 Football League Final
ST Brigid's had plenty to smile about as they edged out their parish rivals Rhode in an unusually low scoring Offaly Division 3 Football League final in Edenderry on Sunday last.
Brosna Press Division 3 Football League Final
St Brigid’s 0-7
Rhode 0-6
Any victory over their local rivals and one of Offaly's great football clubs, Rhode is a cause of celebration for St Brigid's while the fact that this was their second league title in a couple of weeks added to their sense of satisfaction – St Brigid's won the Division 5 title the previous week.
There is a great shared history between the Croghan based St Brigid's, and Rhode over the
years. Players from Croghan featured on successful Rhode teams for decades until the late 1980s enforcement of the rules shut off this avenue. They play underage and U20 football together and St Brigid's supporters are seldom behind the door in reminding Rhode that some of their greatest ever footballers, men synonymous with great Rhode and Offaly teams, Mick and Paddy Casey and Paddy McCormack are from the Croghan area.
There is a myriad of family connections all over the place between the clubs, a great shared history, and the rivalry is every bit as friendly and intense as it is in most parishes. This meant that this Division 3 final was more important than would normally be the case – St Brigid's have been contending for intermediate football honours in recent years and were favourites while it is Rhode's second team and they are just up out of junior.
Rhode wanted to win and would have enjoyed it but in ways, it was more important for St Brigid's to take this silverware and they fell across the line, holding on for the tightest of wins. Rhode had a young side but St Brigid's were worried when they saw two of their great senior footballers, Alan and Niall McNamee named among their subs.
The McNamee brothers just returned to training in recent weeks and played senior last year. Niall is likely to be a big part of the Rhode senior team this year while it remains to be seen how much Alan McNamee, now in his 40s, plays but he is likely to be in senior manager Paschal Kellaghan's plans. To Rhode's credit, they were fair to their own players who got them to the final and will play mainly at this grade as well as not trying to gain an edge on St Brigid's by their use of players of this stature – Alan McNamee didn't feature and Niall only came on as a 56th minute sub, kicking a free.
St Brigid's were missing players, including Dan Molloy and Ben Kennedy, and a fiercely fought game emerged with no quarter asked or given. Every ball was contested and a dogged encounter emerged, entertaining in its own right thanks to the commitment and sheer desire of the players on the field.
It is very unusual in modern football for the scores of both teams to be in single digits but that is what happened here with only one two point score, a free, kicked, and every point very well earned.
As the score suggests, defences were on top and it was a difficult day for the two forward lines. Rhode looked like they would just have the measure of their opponents but a two point free from Alan Scally in the 43rd minute levelled it up at 0-5 each and St Brigid's were the better side from here to the end. Liam Cocoman and Ethan Hannon got the all important points and St Brigid's were two up as it went into injury time.
By this stage, Niall McNamee was on the field as Rhode tried to salvage the game. Extra time became a distinct possibility and with some supporters keen to make the dash to Thurles for the All-Ireland senior hurling quarter-final between Offaly and Cork, this was certainly something that they didn't want.
McNamee got a free to bring the deficit down to one and his ability to kick two pointers if he got a chance was no secret to St Brigid's who defended as if their lives depended on it. There was a few minutes injury time played and Rhode had ample play and possession to have forced extra time but couldn't manufacture an equaliser and St Brigid's held on.
Scores were at a premium in the first half with former county player Cian Donohue giving St Brigid's the lead and Billy Quinn equalising for Rhode. There were long scoreless spells and a Joshua Kellaghan free earned Rhode a 0-3 to 0-2 half time lead.
The scoring rate only increased marginally in the second half with St Brigid's outscoring Rhode by 0-5 to 0-3 for the win. Josha Kellaghan put Rhode two up before Alan Scally got one back. Dylan Kilmurray put Rhode two up but that two point free from Scally transformed the game for the winners and with two of their elder statesmen Cian Donohue and Bobby Troy running the game in the closing quarter, they did just enough to win.
The Scorers
St Brigid’s: Alan Scally 0-4 (0-2 TPF, 0-1 Free), Cian Donohue 0-1, Ethan Hannon 0-1, Liam Cocoman 0-1.
Rhode: Joshua Kellaghan 0-2 (Frees), Dylan Kilmurray 0-2, Billy Quinn 0-1, Niall McNamee 0-1 (Free).
The Teams
St Brigid’s: Liam Fox; Odhran Briody, Cameron Egan, David Boland; Ethan Hannon, Ronan Doyle, Aaron McDermott; Cian Donohue, Sean Briody; Liam Cocoman (Capt.), Bobby Troy, Thomas Mooney; Ronan Swords, Alan Scally, James Lynch. Subs: Willie Molloy for David Boland (inj. 18 mins), Dillon Donoghue for Willie Molloy (inj. 35 mins).
Rhode: Philip O’Connell; Harry Jones, Jack Kilmurray, Kyle Kilmurray; Cian Murphy, Dylan Kilmurray, Jordan Kilmurray; Adam Kellaghan, Aaron McBride; Jonathan Moore, Paraic Sullivan, Shane Murphy; Joshua Kellaghan, Ryan Murphy, Billy Quinn. Subs: Paul Stynes for Kyle Kilmurray (Half Time), Jack Murphy for Jordan Kilmurray (47 mins), Kenny Garry for Philip O’Connell (inj. 47 mins), Niall McNamee for Shane Murphy (56 mins), Gavin Young for Jonathan Moore (61 mins).
Referee: Chris Joslin (Daingean).