Magnificent Malachy’s march to victory
There was never a hint of an upset as the Ulster champions atoned for their 1997 final loss to Coláiste na Sceilge with an emphatic victory.
St Malachy’s coach PJ Magee was delighted at the manner of victory.
He said: “It was a magnificent performance, one that I was hoping against hope they would produce on the big day. I was concerned at half time with only a five-point lead (0-8 to 0-3), as the wind was very strong and that they might come back at us. However, with the kind of football we play, which is the short passing game, it probably suited us to face the wind in the second half. We played well as a team and I’m delighted for the lads. You would have to be part of our set up to appreciate the effort they put in to win this title.”
He continued: “This is a massive boost for the school. We had won two Under-16 All-Ireland titles but this is our first senior one and there are 13 of that team underage again next year. Next year is the 50th anniversary of our foundation, and it would be wonderful if we could celebrate that by retaining our title.”
The Down side opted to play with the strong wind in the first half and it proved the correct decision. Superbly marshalled in defence by Gerard McNulty and Cian McClean, and in attack by Paul Devlin and Conor Poland, they stormed into an 0-6 to 0-0 lead after 15 minutes.
Ronan Crowley eventually opened the Brogan’s account with a point in the 17th minute and as the half wore on, the West Cork school improved greatly and a brace of points by Daniel Twomey left just five between them at the interval.
Tempers frayed in the second half, which forced the referee to flash a succession of yellow cards, but the game never threatened to get out of hand as Malachy’s, superbly led by Devlin, continued to pour forward at every opportunity.
The incessant pressure eventually told in the 45th minute — a great passing move ended in Conor Poland having his shot brilliantly blocked by Brogans ‘keeper Chris White but the rebound broke to Chris Ryan who fired home the game’s only goal.
It gave the Ulster champions an 1-10 to 0-5 lead and they were never going to be caught. Brogan’s had a chance of a late goal when Daniel Twomey fired a great ball across the goalmouth but there was no one there to apply the finish. That miss summed up their day.
St Brogan’s coach Paudie Palmer said defeat had to be put in context.
“Without wishing to take anything from St Malachy’s superb display, we went into this final without two of our best players, Roy Payne and Eoin Kelly. It was always going to be difficult for us, even at full strength, against what was a superbly prepared team. To have to play in an All-Ireland final without players of the calibre of Roy and Eoin was always going to be very difficult. We are disappointed but you have to take the positives out of the game. I’m sure there are many schools around the county who would have been delighted just to get to an All-Ireland final.”
“Brogan’s received tremendous support from the clubs of our catchment area — business people sponsored the team and we received a lot of support from other educational institutions in Bandon. All that is very positive.”
P. Devlin 0-6 (0-4 frees); C. Regan 1-1; C. Poland 0-3 (0-2 frees); J. Brannigan (free), C. Laverty 0-1 each.
D. Twomey 0-3; R. Crowley, D. Creedon (free) 0-1 each.
R. Morgan; C. Burns, D. McDonald, C. Devlin; C. O’Hare, G. McNulty, C. McClean; P. Bonny, C. Regan; M. Spiers, J. Branagan, S. Kane; P. Devlin, C. Poland, C. Laverty.
G. Rice for Burns; A. Branagan for Laverty; D. Magee for Spiers.
C. White; C. Walsh, C. Ryan, A. Tobin; J. Collins, L. Long, M. O’Leary; P. Daly, D. Creedon; R. Crowley, M. Sexton, J. McCarthy; K. O’Donovan, D. Twomey, G. Twomey.
C. Twomey for McCarthy; P. O’Sullivan for Collins.
P. Daly (Westmeath).
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