AIB All-Ireland Club SFC Semi-Final: St Brigid's reach decider

AIB All-Ireland Club SFC Semi-Final

St Brigid's 1-16 Scotstown 1-12

By Kevin Egan at Kingspan Breffni

Their gameplan was immaculate but St. Brigid’s still needed a number of heroic defensive plays to edge out Scotstown and earn their path back to Croke Park and the AIB All-Ireland senior club final.

Defensively in particular, this was a masterclass. Rory Beggan’s long-range threat was completely nullified by impeccable defensive shape and structure, not to mention incredible discipline that offered Scotstown just two scorable frees all day, neither from two-point range.

But while the whiteboards and tactics sheets were adhered to perfectly, no less important was the last-ditch, body-on-the-line defending that saw Ruaidhrí Fallon and Seán Trundle preserve their net in the second half and ensure that the lead was always at least four points.

As you might imagine in a game of this stature, there were no backward steps taken and no lack of courage on either side, but the Brigid’s utter disregard for self-preservation was particularly notable nonetheless.

Trundle had the game of his young life against Jack McCarron, taking no fault for the Monaghan man’s early goal that emanated from a misdirected kickout. Brian Stack wasn’t as prominent as usual, but St. Brigid’s supporters still would have had hearts in their mouths after he lay on the ground in pain having made a truly spectacular leap to outfield Rory Beggan from a kickout, and they’ll continue to monitor the situation carefully with the final against Dingle in a fortnight in mind.

Players like Eddie Nolan, Ruaidhrí Fallon, Bobby Nugent and Robbie Dolan also left nothing behind, but above all was Paul McGrath, who stepped up to produce an hour of tireless and relentless performance that powered his side’s win.

The wing-back kicked two first half points, but it was in the second where he was at his best, quarterbacking the play, pressurising opponents and controlling his team’s shape and structure to ensure they always had four points or more to spare.

Ten minutes in, it looked like this would be less of a defensive masterclass and more of a shootout, akin to the wonderful fare between Daingean Uí Chúis and Ballyboden.

Ruaidhrí Fallon played in Brian Derwin for an immaculate finish to start the game in style, then also assisted and kicked the next two points.

Scotstown replied in kind and more, with Francis Maguire firing over the game’s first two-pointer and McCarron showing surgical precision to match Derwin’s strike with a green flag of his own.

In the second quarter however, St. Brigid’s established their winning platform by outscoring Scotstown 0-7 to 0-1. The Ulster champions enjoyed plenty of possession with Beggan pushing forward to try and unsettle the St. Brigid’s defence, but the South Roscommon side had the answers and struck time and again on the break, Bobby Nugent’s two-pointer the key score as they built up a 1-10 to 1-6 half-time lead.

Conor Hand, another player who didn’t tear it up as he can but still kept doing the right things and caused plenty of problems for Scotstown, kicked a two-pointer to start the second half. It was about game management from there, with Scotstown taking control at midfield to get the better of Conor Carroll’s kickout and ratchet up the pressure – or there would have been pressure, had Fallon and Trundle not made their goal-line blocks to deny Shane Carey and McCarron.

McCarron did kick two points from play to keep the scoreboard moving and Micheál McCarville also fired one over the bar with the goal at his mercy, but a two-point free from Nugent and Charlie O’Carroll’s insurance point meant that even if Scotstown did find the net, St. Brigid’s still would have had a small bit of cushion to see them back to Croke Park.

Scorers for St. Brigid’s: Bobby Nugent 0-7 (1tpf, 1tp, 3f), Brian Derwin 1-0, Conor Hand 0-2 (tp), Paul McGrath 0-2, Ruaidhrí Fallon 0-1, Ben O’Carroll 0-1, Ciarán Sugrue 0-1, Eddie Nolan 0-1, Charlie O’Carroll 0-1.

Scorers for Scotstown: Jack McCarron 1-3 (1f), Francis Maguire 0-3 (1tp), Micheál McCarville 0-2, Rory Beggan 0-1 (45), Max Maguire 0-1, Nicky Sherlock 0-1, Shane Carey 0-1f.

St. Brigid's: Conor Carroll; Pearse Frost, Seán Trundle, Robbie Dolan; Ruaidhrí Fallon, Brian Stack, Paul McGrath; Mark Daly, Eddie Nolan; Bobby Nugent, Conor Hand, Ciarán Sugrue; Brian Derwin, Shane Cunnane, Ben O’Carroll.

Subs: Ronan Stack for Daly (33), Charlie O’Carroll for Ben O’Carroll (48), Senan Kilbride for Nugent (55)

Scotstown: Rory Beggan; Ryan O’Toole, Donnchadh Connolly, Darragh Murray; Nicky Sherlock, Damien McArdle, Kieran Hughes; Darren Hughes, Gavin McPhillips; Max Maguire, Shane Carey, Micheál McCarville; Mattie Maguire, Jack McCarron, Francis Maguire.

Subs: Conor McCarthy for Sherlock (HT), Tommy Mallen for Mattie Maguire (46).

Referee: Brendan Cawley (Kildare).