All-Ireland Club SFC Final: Cuala (Dublin) 3-14 Errigal Ciarán (Tyrone) 1-16
The great, red-letter day arrived in Croke Park. Cuala’s footballers, by history and tradition the supporting act in Dalkey, achieved the extraordinary. By lifting the Andy Merrigan Cup, they became only the second club after Cork’s St Finbarr’s to win both All-Irelands.
In the end, they saw it out but the All-Ireland club senuior football final was an unbelievably close-run contest. It effectively ended when replacement Conor Groarke fisted a point in the last minute to restore a four-point lead.
The visceral cries of jubilation combined with sighs of heartfelt relief. Almost symbolically, Peter Harte, the spiritual leader of the Tyrone champions’ comeback, was red carded at the very end.
This was a match of two superb performances: one by the winners in the first half and the other by Errigal Ciarán after half-time. Cuala had established a monumental 13-point lead at the break, 3-9 to 0-5, but as has been their practice in this historic campaign, they squandered the advantage like a lottery winner in a casino.
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After a hurling final that had disappointed hopes of being a close contest, the football appeared to be heading in the same direction as the Dublin champions roasted their opponents.
Three goals put a yawning chasm on the scoreboard; when the tirelessly energetic Peadar Ó Cofaigh Byrne, ultimately named man of the match, scored the third of them – created by a clever run and pass by Con O’Callaghan – it put them 3-6 to 0-1 in front.
By that stage Errigal’s captain and chief inspiration Darragh Canavan had been removed from play with concussion after a serious knock to the head in a collision with Danny Conroy.
Manager Enda McGinley said afterwards that brother Ruairí, the other half of the sibling strike force that had blown open the previous week’s semi-final, had also sustained concussion late in the match and both brothers had been hospitalised.
For Errigal to pick themselves up and put in the chase they did in the second half was phenomenal. The charge was led by Peter Harte, who scored the 39th minute goal that electrified the comeback, taking on Charlie McMorrow and placing the ball past Ryan Scollard to cut the deficit to seven.
The quality of Cuala’s football in the opening half-hour was irresistible. They ran in waves at the opposition, pace and athleticism cutting Errigal open.
Niall O’Callaghan opened the scoring with a well-taken point but the early damage was done by goals, created by sweeping movement. Cal Doran, who also showed great leadership in the second half, involving himself in many of the rallying attacks, featured twice in the build-up to his – taking the scoring pass from the indefatigable Mick Fitzsimons – before a cool finish, slid calmly home in the fifth minute.
Eight minutes later, another incisive move featuring both wing backs ended with David O’Dowd shooting Cuala into a 2-6 to 0-1 lead – the assist from Ó Cofaigh Byrne.
Reviewing how the match unfolded will probably cause the new champions palpitations but when they were good, they were excellent.
Con O’Callaghan ran himself ragged, appearing in defence as well as finishing top scorer without a wide and including a 45, not usually associated with his repertoire, and during the fraught end game when Errigal reduced the margin to three and appeared incapable of missing, it was his block that raised the siege and signalled the breakaway that led to Groarke’s insurance point.
Fitzsimons was also immense, his clinical demeanour in possession holding the ball and moving it around securely in the hothouse temperature of the second half, During the ascendancy of the first half, he was prominent in building attacks, including one perfectly weighted scoring assist.
Manager Austin O’Malley paid tribute to the pair. “They’re two unbelievable characters, unbelievable leaders ... but to observe and witness those guys go about their business, and given what they’ve done in the game, to be still so hungry, and so diligent around their preparation ... to watch Con even strike 45s there tonight, in terms of what he nailed, and his practice of those, and his time spent at that.”
As in so many of their matches, Cuala had to resist the siren call of panic stations when under the severest of pressure. Errigal had also overcome adversity along their road to the final, winning all but one of their matches by just one score and they started the second half on a mission to wrest back the initiative.
Thomas Canavan was the soul of reassurance, kicking all of his four frees and ending up with six from six shots.
Ultimately, Cuala’s survival was built on an ability to hit back with scores to keep their total moving – it may have looked like water pistols in a forest fire but they did enough to keep the margin out of Errigal’s reach.
One undisputed area of superiority was turnovers won, 16 to nine, which helped break up attacks and platform counters.
Peter Duffy had an excellent match at centrefield beside Ó Cofaigh Byrne and broke away for a relieving score in the fraught second half when the long kickouts started to go wrong and Errigal turned the screw.
Finals though are – even more than semi-finals – for winning, and the Dubliners emerged triumphant before 31,267, the biggest attendance since the finals moved from St Patrick’s Day.
CUALA: R Scollard; D Conroy, C McMorrow, E O’Callaghan; D O’Dowd (1-1), M Fitzsimons, E Kennedy; P Ó Cofaigh Byrne (1-1), P Duffy (0-1); C Doran (1-0), C O’Brien, C Dunne; L Keating (0-3, 2f), N O’Callaghan (0-2), C O’Callaghan (0-5, 2f, 45). Subs: C Groarke (0-1) for O’Brien (42 mins), M Conroy for Dunne (49), C Ó Giolláin for Conroy (54), Luke Tracey for McMorrow (63).
ERRIGAL CIARÁN: D McAnenly; C Quinn, A McCrory, C Quinn; T Colhoun, N Kelly, P McCartan; B McDonnell, J Oguz (0-1); P Harte (1-2), T Canavan (0-6, 4f), C McGinley (0-1); O Robinson (0-1), D Canavan, R Canavan (0-3, 2f). Subs: M Kavanagh (0-1) for D Canavan (22 mins), E Kelly for McGinley (48), P McGirr (0-1) for Robinson (52).
Referee: Paddy Neilan (Roscommon).
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