- Written by Matt Gault
- BBC Sport NI in Croke Park
Highlight: Glass helps lead Glen to All-Ireland victory
The Glen won their first All-Ireland club football title with a thrilling come-from-behind victory over St Bridget’s in Croke Park.
In an enthralling final that came to a close, the Ulster champions scored crucial goals from Jody McDermott and Conor Glass, despite spending most of the match on the back foot of an impressive St Brigid’s side. We won by one point.
In a mesmerizing and heartbreaking ending, Glen equalized through a fine goal from Conor Glass and opened up a two-goal lead before Shane Cunane reduced the deficit to a minimum four minutes into stoppage time.
Cunnan then had a chance to save St Brigid’s with a last-gasp free, but it went wide, sparking a moment of jubilation among the Glen supporters, and referee Brendan Corley blew his whistle, giving Glen’s club It completed an incredible rise to football’s highest prize. He won his first Delhi title in 2021.
It is also the sweetest redemption for the Wattie Graham family, who suffered a very controversial defeat to Kilmacud Crokes in last year’s All-Ireland final.
For St Bridget’s, with Ben O’Carroll starring and Brian Darwin scoring early in the second half, causing all sorts of problems for the Glen will be a bitter pill to swallow.
Glenn’s performance was far from perfect. Despite being suited to a big attack, they dug deep and came close to the final whistle in a manner now synonymous with Malachy O’Rourke’s side.
The one-point win means the Andy Merrigan Cup will be held in Oakleaf County for the fourth time, after Bellaghy, Raby and Ballindaree won one each.
Many saw Glen as favorites to return to Croke Park after defeating Kilmacud in the semi-final and avenging last year’s final defeat.
But it was St Bridget’s who shone the brightest for much of the first half, led by the irrepressible Ben O’Carroll. The Roscommon forwards scored 0-3, giving Michael Warnock a tough test of his man-marking skills.
St Brigid’s were also tenacious at the back, with Pearse Frost in particular doing his part to stop quality ball penetration into the Glen forwards.
Connacht’s champion side took an early lead with a goal from Brian Stack, with Emmett Bradley quickly parrying Glen’s first two goals, but a frustrating first quarter for the Derry side saw Cathal Mulholland and Ciaran McFall break through. Both shots missed the target.
Brigid, by contrast, looked dangerous every time she surged forward. Fast in transition and efficient in getting the early ball to O’Carroll, they must have gone into the break wondering how they only scored eight points.
While the likes of Eddie Nolan and Ruaidhri Fallon scored beautifully from play, Robbie Dolan should have done better when he isolated Tiernan Flanagan and fired straight at the Glen forward. was.
But Flanagan’s blushes were spared when, after Fallon’s brilliant dive, O’Carroll failed to find the back of Conlan Bradley’s goal and his horribly erroneous pass went straight into Fallon’s arms. Ta.
With St Bridget’s leading by four points and looking in the ascendancy, the game quickly changed with Glen’s quick 1-1, with McDermott teeing up Danny Tallon and finding Cormac Sheehy’s net before Ethan Doherty scored for two. It became. -a-row Ulster champions level before break.
The glass goal inspires Glenn, leading to an enthusiastic finale.
Jodie McDermott’s goal helped Glen claw their way back into the game after a first half dominated by St. Brigid’s.
Despite the Glen gaining momentum and regaining parity late in the first half, Brigid remained unfazed, and in the second half he was spotted by O’Carroll, marked by Ryan Dougan, and shortly after the restart when Brian Darwin brought out the green flag. I regained control. Warnock first felt a severe headache.
Darwin then scored a stunning goal with the outside of his right boot, giving the Connacht team a four-point lead.
Glass responded to try to get Glen back within three points, but his cause was hurt when Cathal Mulholland was shown a black card in the 48th minute for a tangle with Bobby Nugent.
The Roscommon club held a four-point lead with six minutes remaining, with Glen’s Emmett Bradley free and Ruaidri Fallon and Eddie Nolan scoring either side.
But after Michael Warnock’s long-awaited goal brought the Glen back into range, Glass collected McGuckie’s pass from the air and fired an unstoppable right-footed shot over his opponent that skipped past Brigid keeper Cormac Sheehy. . He has stepped out of his line.
Goals from Bradley and McGuckian in the first five minutes of extra time gave Glen a little leeway, and Cunan gave St Brigid’s hope, but his free shot went wide in the final corner. It proved to be the final act of a heated final match that kept everyone on their toes. They didn’t leave their seats until the final whistle.
There were notable scenes in Full Time as the Glen players released all the emotions they had felt over the past 12 months, reveling in the realization that they had completed their mission and become All-Ireland champions. Ta.
Glenn: Conlan Bradley; Conor Carville, Ryan Dougan, Michael Warnock (0-1); Jodie McDermott (1-0), Ciaran McFaul (0-1), Cathal Mulholland. Connor Glass (1-2, 1:45), Emmett Bradley (0-4, 3 seconds). Eunan Mulholland, Conleth McGuckian (0-1), Ethan Doherty (0-1). Tiernan Flanagan, Danny Tallon, Alex Doherty.
sub: E. Mulholland’s Conor Convery (27 minutes), Kerrville’s Stevie O’Hara (44 minutes) and A. Doherty’s Keir McCabe (55 minutes).
St. Brigid’s: Cormac Sheehy. Robbie Dolan, Brian Stack (0-1), Pierce Frost. Ruaidri Fallon (0-2), Alan Daly, Ronan Stack. Eddie Nolan (0-2), Shane Cunane (0-1f). Bobby Nugent (0-1), Paul McGrath, Connor Hand. Ben O’Carroll (0-3, 2m, 1m), Brian Darwin (1-1), Ciaran Sugrue (0-1).
sub: John Cunningham for Darwin (45 minutes) and Conor Gleeson for Nugent (56 minutes).
Referee: Brendan Coley (Kildare).