ROSCOMMON SFC FINAL

ST. BRIGID'S 0-12 BOYLE 0-11

Kevin Egan at Dr. Hyde Park

Four points from Shane Cunnane, outstanding defensive work to lock down a star-studded Boyle forward line and a tireless, Man of the Match performance from joint-captain Paul McGrath were the key ingredients as St. Brigid’s edged out Boyle in a dramatic Roscommon senior championship final at Dr. Hyde Park.

It was the second year in succession that Boyle endured county final heartbreak and fell short by the bare minimum in their bid to win a first Roscommon title in almost a century, and they will have more than a few regrets, particularly when it came to outside goal chances either side of half-time that could have completely changed the flow of the game.

The Kiltoom and Cam parish club, who picked up their 18th senior championship title, were never behind at any stage in the contest and for long stretches of the second half, it looked like they were in control of the game, even though they never led by enough to consider themselves out of sight.

However this Boyle group have been incredible strong defensively since their bizarre championship opener when they conceded six goals in the first half of their game against Roscommon Gaels, and by virtue of that solid defensive work, they had a couple of chances at the end of the game to salvage extra time, or potentially even sneak a goal.

Shane Cunnane and Brian Stack counteracted Boyle’s deep-lying defensive posture with some stunning scores from distance, but Boyle kept in the game throughout and were marginally unlucky not to have been awarded a penalty before half-time, though no-one could argue that 0-5 each at the break was a fair enough reflection on how the game had gone.

With Cunnane, Paul McGrath and Rúaidhri Fallon in outstanding form around the middle third, St. Brigid’s began to turn the screw in the third quarter, kicking off the half with three points in a row – though they were deeply fortunate when Donie Smith cut in from the right corner of the attack and chose to go back to Enda Smith, instead of floating a handpass across towards Niall O’Donnell, who had sprinted through the middle and got clear of the defence, with just the goalkeeper to beat.

Points from Donie Smith and Oisín Cregg kept Boyle in touch but Shane Cunnane struck two dead ball points and Brian Derwin made a solid contribution off the bench to push them four points clear going into the final ten minutes, and with their defence in complete control, they looked like they might win with a little to spare.

Instead Boyle rallied with three points in a row, man of the match Paul McGrath made it 0-12 to 0-10 going into stoppage time, and two late Boyle attacks were to define the game, both ending with Cian McKeon attempts on goal. His first was partially blocked and spun over the bar to cut the gap to the minimum, and the second was a free from ten metres inside the sideline, curled in towards goal but dropping short, ensuring that his club lost out by a single point in the county final for a second year in a row.

St. Brigid’s, who last won the Connacht championship in 2012 before going on to win their solitary club All-Ireland title the following March, now advance to meet new Sligo champions Coolera-Strandhill on the weekend of the 11th and 12th of November.

Scorers for St. Brigid’s: Shane Cunnane 0-4 (0-1f, 0-1m), Ben O’Carroll 0-3f, Paul McGrath 0-2, Brian Stack 0-1, Bobby Nugent 0-1, Conor Hand 0-1,

Scorers for Boyle: Cian McKeon 0-3 (0-2f), Niall O’Donnell 0-2, Donie Smith 0-2 (0-1f), Cathal Feely 0-1, Enda Smith 0-1, Oisín Cregg 0-1, Tadhg McKenna 0-1.

ST. BRIGID’S: Cormac Sheehy; Brian Stack, Pearse Frost, Seán Trundle; Ronan Stack, Alan Daly, Rúaidhrí Fallon; Eddie Nolan, Shane Cunnane; Robbie Dolan, Paul McGrath, Conor Hand; Ben O’Carroll, Ciarán Sugrue, Bobby Nugent.

Subs: Brian Derwin for Nugent (42), Mark Daly for Dolan (54).

BOYLE: Robert Kearney; Daniel Casey, Killian Cox, Luke Glennon; Oisín Cregg, Tadhg McKenna, David Flanagan; Roch Hanmore, Cathal Feely; Enda Smith, Marc O’Connor, Daire Cregg; Niall O’Donnell, Donie Smith, Cian McKeon.

Subs: Dylan East for Hanmore (47), Eden Kerins for Flanagan (52), Seán Purcell for O’Connor (57).

REFEREE: Aaron Clogher (Pádraig Pearses).