Diligent Roscommon CBS students knew their ABCs
Daniel McGarry, Daniel Tiernan and Jack Feeley lead the Roscommon CBS celebrations after their team are crowned All-Ireland champions in Glennon Brothers Pearse Park, Longford, on Sunday last. Pictures: Gerard O'Loughlin
As the sun-drenched the lush green sward of Glennon Brothers Pearse Park and the Roscommon CBS supporters started to make their journey back to all corners of the county, it was hard not to reflect upon the key moments from the school’s third All-Ireland final triumph.
From Cian Duggan’s sublime opening score, Colin Murray’s well-taken goal, Sam Hannon’s late free, which was much more difficult than the one he miscued a couple of minutes beforehand, or Seamie Carthy’s 64th minute point that finally meant Roscommon CBS supporters, management and players alike could breathe a sigh of relief, there were decisive plays throughout that ensured Roscommon CBS avoided a repeat of the ’97 final defeat to Patrician High School, Carrickmacross.
This was a victory built on moments of inspiration but there was no shortage of perspiration too. As Gaelic football undergoes its biggest fundamental change with the new “rule enhancements”, coaches would be remiss to forget what truly separates success from defeat.
In a final where Roscommon CBS were worthy winners, it was their students’ ability to nail their ABCs — Attitude, Basics and Commitment — over the hour that was the main deciding factor.
It was an occasion to savour, one where Roscommon CBS followers sported Christmas hats, Cork jerseys and, best of all, a Japanese flag. Consequently, there was a carnival-like atmosphere for much of this game. However, the calmness and composure of the players they were following stood out most of all.
Roscommon CBS’ attitude, ability to execute the fundamentals of the game under pressure and willingness to suffer in doing the “dirty” work won them this national decider.
If this was an All-Ireland semi-final or indeed any game prior to an All-Ireland final, joint managers Eoghan Coll and Noel Moran would reference key areas to improve upon for the next game.
They would surely touch upon their side’s 11 wides, the late goal chance that Owen Rogers saw smuggled by Patrician goalkeeper Dion O’Gorman or the fact their seven-point lead after 45 minutes was slashed to just three as former Monaghan minor Conor Meehan began to make his presence felt.
But this was a final. And finals are simply there to be won. Therefore, the satisfaction for all those involved with Roscommon CBS will be immense this week. They had to stare adversity in the face and find the hunger within themselves, even when bodies were tiring on the warmest day of the year.
Let’s cast our minds back to those final dramatic moments as Roscommon CBS managed to secure the Paddy Drummond Cup for the third time. When Patrician sub Jamie McNally saw his pocket picked by Roscommon CBS’ Sam Hannon, who made up impressive ground against a player fresher than him, Roscommon CBS were on the precipice of closing this game out.
From that turnover, Michael Gillooly’s long ball found Duggan, who was fouled. Converting the free would have made it a seven-point game, possibly leading to Patrician High School heads dropping. However, Hannon’s nervous effort hit the post and came back into play.
When Patrician College kicked three scores after that to make it four without reply for them, that moment could have caused lesser teams to forget their ABCs.
But the only alarm bell going off in Glennon Brothers Pearse Park was the one in the press box that rang out twice in the second half, most likely due to the flares from the Roscommon CBS “ultras” that were set off earlier in the day (you’ve got to love schools’ football).
Quite simply, there was never a sense of panic emanating from those on the field wearing red and white.
Even amidst that late scoring barrage on their goal, Roscommon CBS showed their willingness to suffer. In the 57th minute, Christopher Feerick produced a brilliant flick to deny the rampaging Luke Poval a shot. Feerick should have been awarded a free kick when Cian Rafferty clearly stuck his boot in when the St. Dominic’s man sought to pick up the ball.
That call never came and seconds later Shane O’Connor pointed. Despite the margin being whittled back down to 1-11 to 0-11, Roscommon CBS simply got on with the task at hand.
For a side so young, that was the most impressive part of this victory. When their side were on the ropes, Hannon produced a huge catch form a pinpoint Gavin Staunton restart to momentarily halt the Monaghan school’s momentum.
After Eoghan Carthy cut out Poval’s ball forward in the 59th minute, Roscommon CBS recycled possession back to Michael Gillooly. The full-back ran on to a Cian Duggan pass just outside his own ’45 before embarking on a mazy solo run where he managed to avoid losing possession despite four would-be tacklers trying to execute a turnover.
This moment was huge as Gillooly once more took it upon himself to make something happen. In the end, he earned a critical free that Hannon slotted. For Hannon, that was a pressure kick after his earlier miss but, just like his team-mates, he never shirked his responsibility.
Patrician High School showed their own grit and resolve when Conor Meehan pointed to raise the heartrates among the Roscommon CBS supporters even further. Despite Rogers being denied a game-clinching goal, Roscommon CBS grabbed the contest by the scruff of the neck as 16-year-old Seamie Carthy kicked the game’ds clinching score.
Amidst the late drama, Roscommon CBS’ lack of panic, willingness to never allow negative thoughts to prevail and their execution of the fundamentals under the most severe pressure will stand these players in great stead.
Noel Moran and Eoghan Coll deserve full praise for ensuring that their students and players had their ABCs down to a tee. That is the most promising aspect of this sweet success for Roscommon supporters.
