Unruly scenes as St Brigid's win

CONNACHT SFC FINAL St Brigid's (Roscommon) 0-11 Corofin (Galway) 0-10:A TENSE and edgy AIB Connacht football final ended in victory for defending champions St Brigid's amidst unruly scenes, as Mayo referee Liam Devenney and his umpires were surrounded and jostled on the pitch at St Brigid's Park in Kiltoom.

The referee had attracted the displeasure of the travelling support by favouring the Roscommon champions by nearly two to one on the free count and disallowing what looked on video replay to be a valid goal for Corofin’s Mike Farragher in the first half.

At the final whistle Devenney and his officials withdrew to the far side of the field from the dressing rooms and were quickly surrounded although stewards – and former Roscommon goalkeeper Shane Curran, who is one of the St Brigid’s coaches – were able to intervene and escort the beleaguered group to the safety of the enclosure.

Despite the prompt action there were reports that the officials had been struck and indications are that Connacht Council will find themselves launching an investigation into the incidents as soon as the referee’s report is received.

Corofin manager Brian Silke was restrained in his post-match comments when asked did he feel that decisions had gone against his team: “It felt like that. You have to see it on the TV and on replay. When you are on the sideline you can’t see it that well so you don’t have the same perspective. I think the free count was two to one. I felt the goal was legitimate. That was my first instinct. I didn’t see it.”

Team captain Kieran Fitzgerald was more forthright however, branding the referee “a disgrace to the association”.

St Brigid’s manager Noel O’Brien was diplomatic: “Corofin will be disappointed and rightly so. Days like that we got the same thing and you just have to get on with it.”

Asked had he seen the incidents at the end, he said he hadn’t.

“I was with TG4 down the other end. I am not avoiding the issue. I didn’t see anything. I don’t like it. They have a difficult job to do and a thankless job. Maybe they do feel hard done by, but there is nothing we can do but take whatever chances are given by the referee and move on.”

Eventually the champions did take those chances, most critically in the third quarter when they out-scored their opponents by 0-5 to 0-0 to take control of a match in which they had been struggling until half-time.

During that period the Galway champions had coped with the threat of Brigid’s potent two-man full-forward line of Senan Kilbride and Cathal McHugh by fighting hard to restrict the supply to them.

Alan Burke also did a good marking job on Frankie Dolan, keeping the Roscommon side’s most influential forward on a tight leash. Daithí Burke and Greg Higgins were on top at centrefield and their forward movement was sharp and productive.

Farragher, who was a late call-up in place of Justin Burke, was very prominent in the early stages winning ball and shooting two points as was former Galway captain Kieran Comer who, although playing in a more withdrawn role, fired two exquisite points – one from either wing.

Referee Devenney appeared determined to lay down the law from an early stage and handed out a succession of yellow cards – 13 in all and four in the first quarter – but this simply led to frustration, particularly among the Corofin players, as on first viewing not every decision looked justified.

Frees were Brigid’s lifeline for the first half and it was nearly the final quarter by the time Kilbride – riding a number of heavy challenges to get in his shot – hit their first from play.

It was helter-skelter stuff with one side and then the other dominating the kick-outs but the home side frequently gave away possession and laboured to create chances – the best move coming from centre back Peter Domican, who drove the attack that earned Frankie Dolan an equalising point for 0-2 each in the 10th minute.

But Corofin were sharper – at one stage Gary Sice made up a good bit of ground to dispossess Karol Mannion – and Justin Burke, on as a replacement, rounded off a good move with a point to push his team 0-6 to 0-4 ahead. There followed the disallowed goal when Farragher fisted Damien Burke’s centre into the net only to be over-ruled because of a square ball adjudication by the referee.

It looked as if Alan O’Donovan had squandered the chance to go a goal up when he sent a free wide but Michael Lundy rounded off the half with a point from play.

But Corofin didn’t restart the third quarter in the same manner and Brigid’s eventually began to sense their chance. Ian Kilbride – just returned from duty in Lebanon – came in at centre back with Domican going to full back and the switches steadied the defence.

Mannion and Garvan Dolan came into the match more and Frankie Dolan threw off the shackles – he and Senan Kilbride sharing the five points that transformed the match in the third quarter.

The final 10 minutes fluctuated between one- and two-point margins but when Frankie Dolan fired over the 11th point, after capitalising on a desperate clearance following a great block on the line when the impressive Eoin Sheehy looked to have slipped the ball into the Corofin net, the Galway champions couldn’t bridge the gap.

ST BRIGID'S: J Martin; G Cunniffe, D Donnelly, D Sheehy; R Kelly, P Domican, N Grehan; K Mannion, G Dolan; E Sheehy, D Dolan, F Dolan (0-6, four frees, one 45); C McHugh (0-1), S Kilbride (0-4, 0-3 frees), frees), D Kelleher. Subs: I Kilbride for Donnelly, P Kelly for Kelleher (both half-time), R Blaine for McHugh (59 mins), D Kelleher for D Dolan (63 mins).

COROFIN: D Morris; P Kelly, K Fitzgerald, K McGrath; A Burke, G Delaney, M Comer; D Burke, G Higgins; G Sice, D Burke, A O'Donovan (0-4, three frees); M Lundy (0-1), M Farragher (0-2), K Comer (0-2). Subs: J Burke (0-1) for Kelly (19 mins), R Steede for Damien Burke (36 mins), Damien Burke for K Comer (54 mins), J Canney for Lundy (59 mins).

Referee: L Devenney(Mayo).