St Brigid's 2-15 Summerhill 0-11:ON AND on and ever on spins the St Brigid's season.
Where it stops, nobody knows.
When they take on Wexford side Horeswood this coming Sunday, they’ll be togging out for their sixth championship go-round in seven weekends.
It’s a schedule to test any side’s limits and yet week by week, hurdle by hurdle, they come to look like more plausible contenders than before. Fatigue is no lead weight on their backs, just another hill to stomp their way up.
They won here as they pleased in the end, a double-tap strike of two goals between the 16th and 20th minutes putting seven points between the sides. Thereafter, the margin never got below six.
Far from looking tired, St Brigid’s were clearly far better off for their run of games than Summerhill were for their four-week lay-off since winning in Meath.
At times when they moved the ball upfield with short passes and fluid overlapping, it was like watching schoolkids merrily recite poetry they’d learned off by heart. Summerhill had a thick-tongued mumble by comparison.
“That’s a young team we have out there,” said Summerhill manager Declan McCabe afterwards. “I just said to them, ‘Recognise that you’ve had a great year but recognise as well that there’s another level you have to work hard to get to’. St Brigid’s are a team that has been around for a number of years already and when the ball broke there always seemed to be one or two of them extra. It was difficult for our lads to stick with that pace.”
On a mild and still afternoon in Navan, you knew from early on that forwards were going to enjoy themselves. St Brigid’s attackers Paddy Andrews and Philly Ryan helped themselves to five points apiece – all but one of them from play. Summerhill kept pace for a spell early on, with the excellent Seán Dalton a picture of vim and vigour as he knifed a couple of fine points.
But once Andrews and Ryan knocked over the Blanchardstown side’s third and fourth points 15 minutes in – one better than the next and both a cut above anything else we’d seen up to then – it was hard to shake the feeling that St Brigid’s were about to cut loose. They were and they did and that was pretty much that.
Both goals came with a dollop of fortune on the side. Ken Kilmurray’s shot for the first was goalbound for sure but the heavy deflection it took on its way to the net robbed Tony McDonnell of any hope of getting a finger on it.
And when Andrews shimmied through the Summerhill defence four minutes later, he held onto the ball just long enough for it to appear as though Barry Cahill was already in the square by the time Andrews flicked the ball across to him. Summerhill appealed to referee Fergal Kelly’s better nature but a quick chat with his umpires led to nothing but confirmation of the score.
Truth be told, had the goals not been scored at that point, they would surely have been before the break. Andrews and Ryan were untouchable now, with Barry Cahill and John O’Loughlin feeding one or other of them at will and corner-back Mark Daly joining in the attack when the mood took him.
St Brigid’s went in 2-7 to 0-4 up at the break and although Summerhill hinted briefly at a revolt with the first three points of the second half, it was as close as they got. St Brigid’s started emptying the bench as early as the 38th minute, soothing limbs that are working overtime and have been for close on two months now.
“I think it showed a couple of times,” said joint-manager Gerry McEntee. “I think the lads were tired. Summerhill were unlucky not to get a couple of goals out there because they stuck at it and our lads were tired. It isn’t hard to keep going because you’re winning. They’re doing very little training in between games because there’s no time for it. You’re playing on a Saturday or a Sunday and that means you can’t train hard during the week.
“Yes, it’s a long campaign and we’re out again next Sunday but look, if you asked us would we swap it for being out of the championship, no one would take that. No one. They’re all delighted to be here. They’re tired but delighted.”
As they should be. It’s been a hectic ride but they’re of no mind to end it anytime soon.
ST BRIGID’S: S Supple (c); A Daly (0-1), Martin Cahill, G Norton; C Freeman, S Murray, G Kane; B Cahill (1-0), C Mullins; J O’Loughlin, P Andrews (0-5, one free), Mark Cahill (0-2, both frees); K Kilmurray (1-0), K Darcy (0-1), P Ryan (0-5). Subs: L McCarthy (0-1 free)for Kilmurray (39 mins), O McCann for Mark Cahill (41 mins), C Kilmurray for Darcy (55 mins), J Kelly for Norton, (56 mins).
SUMMERHILL: T McDonnell (c); D Dalton, C Young, W Ryan; S Husband, R Hatton, M Gorman; M Byrne (0-1, free), C Gillespie (0-1); D Larkin, B Ennis (0-4, all frees), S Dalton (0-2); P Rispin (0-1), S Kennedy, A Kenny (0-1). Subs: B Lyons (0-1) for Kenny (12 mins); Kenny for Rispin (39 mins), G Rispin for Gorman (43 mins), R Tallon for Kennedy (56 mins).
Referee: F Kelly (Longford).
The three remaining Leinster club football quarter-finals will be played next Sunday – St Brigid’s of Dublin will play Wexford’s Horeswood; Portlaoise meet newly crowned Wicklow champions St Mary’s; and Athy of Kildare clash with Old Leighlin of Carlow. Westmeath’s Garrycastle are already in the provincial semi-final, where they await the winners of the Athy-Old Leighlin match.
