Connacht SF Final/Salthill 1-10 St Brigids 0-5: It may be that Michael Donnellan's most vivacious days in Gaelic football are behind him, but on a given Sunday he is capable of reminding us of his place as one of the contemporary giants of the game.
Donnellan's transfer from his native Dunmore to the city club seems to have re-awakened his appetite for the game. In Pearse Stadium yesterday, he played with all the freshness and vigour of old. Roscommon champions St Brigid's simply could not live with Donnellan or the rest of an impressive Salthill team in what was a disappointingly predictable Connacht final.
The Roscommon champions were billed as outsiders for this match, but arrived in Salthill quietly fancying their chances against a local team whose form to this point had been competent rather than blistering.
The sensational axing by new county manager John Maughan of St Brigid's marquee players, Shane Curran and Frankie Dolan, provided the club with an added motivation, and on a beautiful, sunny November day, they had everything to play for.
Three first-half points gave them some reason for encouragement as Salthill cracked seven shots wide in the first half-hour. But they were surviving on precious few rations, rarely breaking into the Salthill half and depending on Curran's wonderfully varied and accurate kick-outs for possession.
Any plans they had for a second-half sting quickly fell apart when Salthill manufactured a penalty after just four minutes. Maurice Sheridan hammered the chance home and at 1-6 to 0-3, the game was fast slipping away from St Brigid's. Two minutes later, Alan Kerins chipped a crafty point and when Donnellan thieved what ought to have been a standard St Brigid's line ball and set up Seamie Crowe, it was a case of going through the motions.
This was a comfortable end to a highly satisfying Connacht campaign for Salthill. As can happen in the club championship, the province fell before them much easier than the county championship.
Kerins was again in tremendous form, his superior speed and fitness was a constant torment for St Brigid's.
In Finian Hanley, Gordon Morley and Barry Dooney, they have a formidable and solid central column, a pedigree free-taker in Sheridan and play a fast and attractive game. Their inside forward pairing of Seán Armstong and Crowe, so devastating against Crossmolina, were relatively quiet yesterday, but, even so, Salthill bossed the game and created chances every time they moved up field.
St Brigid's had no such luxury. The long, direct ball that worked well against Leitrim champions Kiltubrid floundered here. Their key attacking players Dolan and Karol Mannion stood stranded deep in Salthill country. They showed composure in taking their first-half points, but too often their attacking play either broke down or was easily dealt with by Salthill's hard-working defence.
It was notable that on the single occasion that St Brigid's were permitted to dwell on the ball, Salthill got 13 players behind the ball, all pressed within their own 50-yard line so that when the ball was eventually worked to Mannion, the shot was blocked down. Fast running out of ideas as to how to infiltrate the Galway champions, St Brigid's were frequently caught sleeping by Salthill's sharp-thinking counter-attacking style.
They lived dangerously, drawing seven yellow cards as they hacked down Salthill's attackers and were a little fortunate that a tackle by Armstrong, bearing down on goal, did not result in a penalty after nine minutes.
As the game evaporated on St Brigid's, they showed something of their form, with Mannion and Senan Kilbride firing nice points. But Ruaidhri McTiernan diligently shadowed Frankie Dolan, who was forced further outfield to look for possession and the home defence were never once seriously threatened by a St Brigid's move on goal.
It was tame stuff. Salthill now have the obligatory trip to London to play the exiled champions and assuming they deal with that, they can expect much stiffer fare when the competition resumes in the new year.
SALTHILL: C McGinley; R McTiernan, F Hanley, C Begle; M O'Connell, G Morley, A McDermott; M Donnellan (0-1), B Dooney; S Rabbitte; A Kerins (0-1), D Burke; S Crowe (0-5, three frees), M Sheridan (1-2, two frees), S Armstrong (0-1). Subs: PJ Kelly for M O'Connell (45 mins), T Burke for C Begley (48 mins), J Boylan for S Rabbitte (48 mins), B Tyrell for D Burke (57 mins).
ST BRIGID'S: S Curran; D O'Connor, D Donnelly, R Kelly; B Mannion, K Noonan, P Kilcommins; J Tiernan, G Aherne; M O'Carroll, D Blaine, I Kilbride (0-1); G Dolan, K Mannion (0-2), F Dolan (0-1, free). Subs: S Kilbride (0-1) for G Dolan (half-time), E Mannion for K Noonan (half-time), J Kelly for B Mannion (46 mins), B O'Brien for D Blaine (47 mins), B Lennon for G Aherne (54 mins).
Referee: M Duffy (Sligo).
