Maurice Brosnan: Glen comeback a stunning show of character

Moments before the turning point, the new champions had been four down with less than five minutes remaining.

Mon, 22 Jan, 2024 - 07:37

Maurice Brosnan

All-Ireland Club SFC final: Watty Graham’s Glen 2-10 St Brigid’s 1-12

The wind was howling in Croke Park and Conor Glass could hear it clearly. Later he would admit the doubts were intense in his mind. Moments before the turning point, they had been four down with less than five minutes remaining.

For much of this All-Ireland final encounter St Brigid’s were awesome. They raced into a four-point lead in the opening half only for Jody McDermott to yield a green flag and ensure it was all square at the turnaround. Jerome Stack’s side came again as Brian Derwin goaled for the first score of the second half. At the stage it was the favourites who seemed shook to their core.

Despite one floated effort in the first half, Ciarán McFaul’s radar was off and he sent four wide. McDermott and Tallon couldn’t find the target either. Captain Connor Carville limped off with fifteen minutes remaining. His replacement Stevie O’Hara immediately missed with another speculative effort. Cathal Mulholland was shown a black card. Wave after wave of Brigid’s alternative black strip washed over them.

The message delivered to Glass and Glen was clear: you cannot withstand this storm. With a quick free from Conleth McGuckian and a glance at the goal, Conor Glass roared a response: ‘I am the storm.’ He was a leader of men all afternoon long. From the start when he turned over Conor Hand with a perfectly executed tackle to the end with a soaring kick-out break after his decisive goal. It was 1-11 to 1-7 when Michael Warnock burst forward and clipped an inspirational score. The big number eight burst a tackle and without taking a play, arrowed an effort into the net to leave it level.

St Brigid’s looked at home up until that point. Suddenly, there was debris all over the grass, the tectonic plates shifted under their feet and they were desperately searching for some form of shelter. A tap over free by Emmet Bradley put Glen one up, Glass went airborne from the subsequent kickout and punched to Ethan Doherty so that McGuckian could make the margin two.

There are so many appealing narratives here. Glen, after the heartbreak and injustice suffered in the same ground 364 days ago, finally have the Andy Merrigan Cup for the first time. The former AFL star who returned to transform his club and county’s fortunes. And yet credit must go to St Brigid’s for the resolute spirit shown throughout and the integral part they played in a magnificent dramatic day of All-Ireland final club action.

Consider Ben O’Carroll, their go-to forward and top scorer, who missed with his first three shots. He clipped the post from their first attack, dropped a free short soon after and then had a one-on-one breakaway goal chance saved by Connlan Bradley. That opportunity was not completely wasted; referee Brendan Cawley had played advantage for a prior Michael Warnock foul on Ruaidhrí Fallon.

O’Carroll did not relent, scoring 0-3 overall, two frees and a mark. He directly assisted Bobby Nugent’s only point and Derwin’s goal. It was his driving run that forced Glass to foul and left one between them in the fifth minute of extra-time.

Eunan Mulholland of Glen lifts the Andy Merrigan Cup after his side's victory in the AIB GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Club Championship Final match between Glen of Derry and St Brigid's of Roscommon at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

Those moments matter too because they illustrate the true crux of Glen’s triumph and the most valuable commodity in Gaelic football. Glass was a colossal force, but he was not flawless. His refusal to kick a ball back for a St Brigid’s sideline saw referee Brendan Cawley bring the ball in for a free. John Cunningham came on and immediately turned him over at the top of the D. Eddie Nolan skipped by him for a first-half point and the midfielder was beaten to the final kick-out by Fallon, who offloaded to Brian Stack.

The full-back was pulled down by McGuckian for a black card and final long-range free that Shane Cunnane just pulled wide. What Glass embodied above all else in this game was character. He made mistakes and made up for them. It was the pursuit of progression rather than perfection.

In the formation of this success, all the pieces matter. Cathal Mulholland had an outstanding block on O’Carroll. Danny Tallon’s patience and precision in squaring a handpass back across the square led to the opening goal. His turnover was vital for the second. The influence of analyst Johnny Bradley, RTÉ’s provider of stats and a Maghera native, showed in their breakdown of Brigid’s kickout.

Their conversion was a measly 44%. Not everything worked. Not everything needed to. They simply had to keep going.

“Here look. We definitely don’t make it easy, but this team has shown character all year. No better way to show it than on All-Ireland final day,” declared Glass on the field after the final whistle. “It has been a tough year after the Kilmacud loss, but we are the best team in Ireland now.”

Scorers for Glen: Conor Glass (1-2, 1 45); Emmett Bradley (0-4, 3 frees); Jody McDermott (1-0); Ethan Doherty, Ciarán McFaul, Conleth McGuckian, Michael Warnock (0-1 each).

Scorers for St Brigid’s: Brian Derwin (1-1); Ben O’Carroll (0-3, 1 mark, 2 frees); Ruaidhrí Fallon, Eddie Nolan (0-2 each); Brian Stack, Ciaran Sugrue, Bobby Nugent, Shane Cunnane (0-1 each).

WATTY GRAHAM’S GLEN: C Bradley; M Warnock, R Dougan, C Carville; E Mullholland, C McFaul, C Mulholland; C Glass, E Bradley; E Doherty, J McDermott, T Flanagan; A Doherty, D Tallon, C McGuckian.

Subs: C Convery for E Mullholland (26), S O’Hara for Carville (44), C McCabe for Tallon (46).

ST BRIGID’S: C Sheehy; R Dolan, B Stack, P Frost; R Fallon, R Stack, A Daly; E Nolan, S Cunnane; C Hand, P McGrath, C Sugrue; B Nugent, B O’Carroll, B Derwin.

Subs: J Cunningham for Derwin (45), C Gleeson for Nugent (57).

Referee: B Cawley (Kildare).