Garrycastle hold off St Brigid's surge in dramatic finish

Garrycastle (Westmeath) 1-8 St Brigid's (Dublin) 0-10:FEW WINS are sweeter than a rescued win, one fished from the rubbish just before the bin lorry drives away. Garrycastle had this Leinster club final won – well won, in fact – but then they handed it back, watching St Brigid's eat up an eight-point margin in the closing 23 minutes.

Point by point and move by move they found their lead ebb away and when the St Brigid’s substitute Gavin McIntyre drew the Dublin club level right on the hour, you could only see one winner. “We were out the gate if it went to extra-time, no doubt about it,” Dessie Dolan cheerfully admitted afterwards.

As it was, the last competition of the year came down to the last kick from the last free at the last possible second. With nothing left on the clock and extra-time a cert, referee Syl Doyle called a free from where the ball landed for a late foul on Garrycastle corner-back Mark McCallon. Where it landed was 35 metres from the St Brigid’s goal, about 15 metres in from the right touchline. Over trotted second-half substitute Conor Cosgrove and with only his second kick of the ball all day, he made them the first Westmeath club to win the Leinster title.

In the circumstances, it was a huge call to make by the referee.

McCallon had played a long ball forward in Dessie Dolan’s direction and had Doyle just decided to follow the play and let what was a light enough hand on him go, there would have been very few Garrycastle people screaming for a free. Asked about the fairness or otherwise of the free, a granite-faced coach Gerry McEntee said simply: “I don’t know. Ask Syl Doyle about it.”

For his part, Garrycastle coach Anthony Cunningham was naturally more forthcoming. “Well, I thought his hand came across him,” he said. “I was very close to it because I was here on the sideline so he had no other option but to kick it long. It was a big call by the referee but overall I think we edged it. We have to say what a team and what a performance in the second half by Brigid’s.”

St Brigid’s went out on their shields here. The relentless campaign they’ve endured since the beginning of October looked to have finally caught up with them in a first half where they were slow of mind as much as weary of leg.

Dessie Dolan toyed with them early on and had four points of his own on the board inside the first 15 minutes before St Brigid’s finally switched Martin Cahill over on to him. Cahill took a little of the fizz out of Dolan from that point on but never shut him out completely. The man-of-the-match award was never really in doubt.

Garrycastle went in 0-6 to 0-1 up at the break and could have had the same again on the board. A smothering save from Shane Supple as Patrick Mulvihill looked odds-on to goal after 23 minutes kept the Dublin champions in touch. Just as well, too, because the St Brigid’s forwards were spilling chances at the other end – one Ken Darcy whiff five minutes from the break was especially hapless and seemed to confirm once and for all their ninth match in 11 weeks would be one too many.

When Gary Dolan got his hand to a James Duignan punt ahead of Supple on eight minutes after the break, it put Garrycastle 1-7 to 0-2 up. A fresh team doesn’t come back from that kind of deficit, never mind one running on fumes as St Brigid’s looked to be. But from the soles of their boots, they dredged up one last effort.

One kick-out from a Cian Mullins catch borrowed the next from John O’Loughlin, one over-lapping run from corner-back Alan Daly inspired another from Barry Cahill. Paddy Andrews hadn’t had a kick all day but now he was firing over points from all angles – four in four minutes to bring them within two points. O’Loughlin set up a frenzied endgame with a point on 50 minutes to leave one between them and when McIntyre boomed the equaliser on the hour, there looked to be only one winner.

As it was, the day belonged to Garrycastle. The day, the cup, the relief, the joy. But St Brigid’s owe nobody a thing after this. On a biting winter day, they could be warmed by that at least.

GARRYCASTLE:C Mullin; M McCallon, J Gaffey, T McHugh; K Henson (0-1), D Harte, E Mulvihill; S O'Donohue, D O'Shaughnessy; R McGowan, D Dolan (0-5, one free), J Dolan; G Dolan (1-1), P Mulvihill, J Duignan. Subs: A Fox for McHugh (44 mins), A Browne for Duignan (51 mins), A Cosgrove (0-1, free) for Mulvihill (53 mins), A Daly for McGowan (54 mins).

ST BRIGID'S:S Supple; A Daly, Martin Cahill, G Norton; D Plunkett, S Murray, G Kane; B Cahill, J O'Loughlin (0-2); C Mullins, P Andrews (0-5, one free), Mark Cahill; K Kilmurray, K Darcy (0-2, frees), P Ryan. Subs: G McIntyre (0-1) for Mark Cahill (42 mins), L McCarthy for Ryan (47 mins), O McCann for Mullins (59 mins).

Referee: Syl Doyle (Wexford)