New-look Cross get the same end result

SAME as it ever was. Over the course of Crossmaglen’s revival in this campaign, we were fed a diet of claims by everyone associated with the team that this was a new team.

New attitude. New style. Everything, we were told, was fresh.

Yet in winning their fifth All-Ireland club title yesterday, Rangers showed a distinct resemblance to their teams of old.

Taking their chances when they mattered most in the second half, never losing their composure and grinding out another sweet result.

The most important statistic of this game can be read at the top of this report but the fact Crossmaglen registered not a single wide in the second period was a testament to their accuracy of execution and assertiveness.

Trailing 1-6 to 1-5 at half-time thanks in no small way to the dominance of Senan Kilbride at full-forward for St Brigid’s, it wasn’t the first time in the campaign Crossmaglen found themselves trailing — and again they refused to panic,

With the arrival of John McEntee just before the break turning the tide in Crossmaglen’s favour around midfield, the Ulster champions had a platform to work from.

Frankie Dolan may have opened the scoring proceedings in the second-half when he took a pass inside from Darren Dolan — passing up the chance of a goal — but an Oisín McConville free cancelled that out shortly after and Jamie Clarke added another in the 38th minute when McEntee and Stephen Kernan combined to set him up.

It was no coincidence the initiative swung with Crossmaglen as they went about physically imposing themselves on the game.

They picked up three yellow cards between the 37th and 43rd minutes and Stephen Kernan was lucky not to be caught tripping Karol Mannion.

Clarke, a classy operator, changed the game in the 39th minute when he struck a well-executed shot past Philip Martin, after Stephen Kernan had broken the ball down to him.

A McConville free followed seconds later and, as their manager Noel O’Brien admitted afterwards, St Brigid’s were reeling.

They eventually came to life with Kilbride knocking over a couple of points, his second a beautiful looping effort which was followed — and beaten aesthetically — by Mannion’s score.

But by that time McConville had added another from play and his 53rd-minute free put three between the sides once more.

What followed will haunt Frankie Dolan for some time to come. After missing a free two minutes later, he proceeded to kick another wide in the 58th minute when he had space and time to shoot.

Unfortunately for Brigid’s, Kilbride did something similar soon after, although he did rectify the matter, to complete his personal tally of eight points, in the last minute of normal time.

By then, Brigid’s were chasing and couldn’t lose the smell of desperation that stuck to their attacks.

And when Crossmaglen’s young substitute Kyle Carragher, a late scorer against Kilmacud Crokes in the semi-final, sprinted around his marker to fist a point in injury-time the die was cast. Carragher mightn’t have had the experience which O’Brien claimed won the game for Crossmaglen but he didn’t lick it off a stone either. It was about shutting down the game and he played his part well.

St Brigid’s will look back with regret they didn’t do more with Kilbride’s presence at the edge of the square in the second half.

They did plenty with it in the first half, mind.

Paul Kernan was finding his marker nigh on impossible to stymie as Frankie Dolan kept him well-fed with diagonal ball.

Amazingly, 1-5 of Brigid’s first-half 1-6 total came by way of Kilbride, whether it was assists, frees won or the score he registered himself from play in the 26th minute.

It was Kilbride who got the Roscommon side running in the fourth minute with a free, which came between a couple of Clarke scores.

The Brigid’s full-forward booted another free won by himself in the ninth minute and then turned provider, breaking down a ball to Cathal McHugh.

All in all, the teams were level on five occasions in the first half, Aaron Kernan’s free making it 0-3 apiece in the 11th minute.

McConville scores either side of a Kilbride free edged Crossmaglen ahead before Aaron Cunningham, set up by David McKenna, took advantage of being totally unmarked to ram home a goal in the 23rd minute.

Brigid’s response couldn’t have been better. Again profiting from Kilbride’s superiority over Paul Kernan, Frankie Dolan targeted the 6ft 3in forward and he did enough to put Eoin Sheehy clear with a one-on-one with Paul Hearty.

The Crossmaglen goalkeeper’s initial save from Sheehy bounced back into the St Brigid’s man’s hands and he tucked it away.

Spurred on by the goal and the success of their direct tactic, Frankie Dolan found Kilbride twice before the break from which a point and a free were the end result.

Sadly for them, Kilbride’s supply dried up after the break. Crossmaglen had twigged it.

New faces but the same old Rangers.

Scorers for Crossmaglen: O McConville 0-6 (4f), J Clarke 1-3; A Cunningham 1-0; A Kernan, K Carragher 0-1 (1f).

Scorers for St Brigid’s: S Kilbride 0-8 (5f); E Sheehy 1-0, C McHugh, F Dolan, K Mannion 0-1 each.

Subs for Crossmaglen: J McEntee for F Hanratty (28); M McNamee for Cunningham (41); M Aherne for T Kernan (49); K Carragher for Finnegan (53); F Bellew for S Kernan (inj 60).

Subs for St Brigid’s: J Tiernan for C McHugh (inj 21); D Kelleher for C McHugh (51); D O’Connor for Tiernan (58).

Referee: Cormac Reilly (Meath)