St. Brigid’s cruise to O’Rourke success
The St. Brigid's team that claimed the O'Rourke Cup this evening. Picture: Roscommon GAA
St. Brigid’s cruised to the O’Rourke Cup as they retained their title against a below par Roscommon Gaels outfit.
Similar to last year’s final, St. Brigid’s proved a step ahead as they simply dominated every facet of the game.
This was a near perfect debut for Conor Carroll as the inter county goalkeeper was not forced to make a meaningful save while St. Brigid’s won all of their kickouts for the first three quarters of the contest.
The Kiltoom based side were without Ben O’Carroll, who is currently in America, but still possessed a dynamism in attack that Roscommon Gaels struggled to handle.
Bobby Nugent was in sparkling form in the early stages as he took advantage of the plentiful supply of quick and accurate deliveries. Nugent kicked three points in the first 10 minutes to help his side lead 0-4 to 0-1.
Roscommon Gaels only won two of their first six kickouts but even when they improved on their retention rate, their lapses of concentration when trying to carve out openings saw them cough up repeated turnovers. A Richard Walsh free just before the water break kept Roscommon Gaels interested but Nugent helped St. Brigid’s lead 0-9 to 0-3 after 19 minutes.
Scott Oates kicked his side’s one and only first half point from play while a free apiece from Cian Connolly and Richard Walsh meant Roscommon Gaels only trailed by four points after 25 minutes.
Roscommon Gaels would have been the happier had they maintained that lead. However, they had been given a warning sign when James Fetherstone produced an excellent save to deny Brian Stack. After Walsh’s free, Conor Carroll's kickout found Stack, who exchanged passes with Ciarán Sugrue before palming to the net.
Further efforts from Robbie Dolan and Nugent, which brought his first half tally to 0-6, gave St. Brigid’s a 1-11 to 0-5 half time lead.
St. Brigid’s were able to control the second half as even though quickfire scores from John McGuinness and Richard Walsh gave Roscommon Gaels’ supporters cause to cheer, St. Brigid’s were always a step ahead.
Anthony Cunningham’s side put the game to bed when Brian Stack won turnover ball before Shane Cunnane and Paul McGrath combined to tee up Conor Hand, who finished decisively to the net to move the home side out of reach.
St. Brigid’s last four scores all came from the bench as Brian Derwin (two frees), Charlie O’Carroll and Billy McDonnell all slotted over to help the Kiltoom side cruise to a facile win.
**Full report and reaction in Tuesday’s Roscommon Herald**
