|
The year belongs to Tir Chonaill
Tir Chonaill Gaels 3-6
St. Brendans 1-3
Conway Cup final
 TIR
Chonaill Gaels made it a sweep of senior football honours as they brushed
aside St. Brendans in the Conway Cup final at Greenford last Saturday.
In a game played on a bog of a pitch — moved at the last minute
to Greenford due to a waterlogged pitch in Ruislip — the home side
opted to play with the stiff breeze in the opening half and had built
up a nine-point advantage at the break.
St. Brendans battled gamely but with the wind proving to be less of a
factor after the restart the hosts’ lead was never overly threatened.
It’s been quite the year for Tir Chonaill Gaels. After the setback
of losing their Senior Championship crown in 2006 they have bounced back
in emphatic fashion this year and with many of their big names starting
to come back from injury they will head into their January clash with
Crossmaglen Rangers full of confidence.
With the conditions as bad as they were, this was never going to be a
high-scoring contest.
Both sides struggled in the early exchanges with the players’ footing
giving way very easily at times.
It was the Greenford side who eventually settled the better and bagged
the first goal of the day through the hard-working Francis Cleary.
With five first-half minutes remaining Tir Chonaill grabbed their second
goal courtesy of a Niall Quinn rocket which threatened to lift the goalframe
out of the ground, giving Gaels a 2-5 to 0-2 interval lead.
St. Brendans came out fighting in the second period and had a goal of
their own on 38 minutes. Makeshift forward John McShane latched onto a
breaking ball and promptly despatched a low daisy-cutter of a shot into
the bottom corner of Brian McBrearty’s net.
McBrearty had to be alert moments later, rising highest amongst a cluster
of forwards to claim a difficult high ball.
Tir Chonaill ended this game as a contest midway through the half when
substitute Billy O’Mahony’s attempted point somehow looped
into the Brendans net.
The visitors fought on, and had a goal ruled out for a square ball but
the day and year belongs to Tir Chonaill Gaels.
Tir Chonaill Gaels: Brian McBrearty; Hugh Cunningham, Patrick Callaghan,
Ronan Walsh; Michael Kelly, Steven Boyle, Niall Spain; Fergus McMahon
(0-1), Gary Kane; Francis Cleary (1-0), David O’Brien (0-1), Conor
Burke (0-1); Niall Quinn (1-1), JP O’Donnell, Peter Mooney.
Subs: Chris Moroney (0-2); Billy O’Mahony (1-0).
St Brendans: Andy Hayes; Shane O’Hare, Paul Malone (0-1), Paul Tierney;
John McShane (1-0), Fergal Greenan, Joe Corscadden; Dave O’Riordan,
Sean McAlinden; Simon Cullen, Cillian Phair, Adrian Brett (0-1); Steven
Owens (0-1), Paul Moyne, Joe Coulter.
Sub: Dan Jennings. |
