After losing on Tuesday against Man O’War, The St Brendan’s Football 1st XV, Sponsored by Dynamic Safety Solutions, went into the next AFL5 fixture against Fingallians targeting a win. This was the third of four matches Martin Ryan has targeted in which a win was a must. 

To allow many players to watch The Leinster Final  at 1.45pm, this morning's match was moved to a 10am throw in.  

1:14 gone at a hot Longmeadows and The Antrim Adventure Man Nicky McCafferty, played a ball to The return Of The Mack, Cillian Morrisson, but the Fingallians got his hand in first to deny possession, but only as far as Kevin ‘76’ Berry who returned the ball to Morrisson and his snapshot yielded the opening score for The Dark Force. 

The Swords men the levelled matters with a close-range free in. Eoghan Clogher's kick out, not only his first of the match but his first as a married man, was lost, but nothing materialized in the attack as Andy ‘The Kei Truck’ Kelly turnover the ball and played the ball to The Golden Mullet Conall Horgan, and played a long ball to Morrison who won the Advance Mark and took his shot over the bar to make it 0-2 to 0-1. 

Morrison repeated the same trick a minute later with another point from an Advance Mark, this time from a long ball by Andy Moran. Morrison secured his four timer of points with a point from play after Brendan Brogan won the Advance Mark and passed to The Return of the Mack, who bounced the ball forward to himself and got in a position to complete the four timer of points, 0-4 to 0-2. 

17:27 gone and the score was 0-5 to 0-2 thanks to a free in by Nicky McCafferty, made a lot easier when the free in was moved forward 10 meters. The Kei Truck Kelly then won a turnover and passed to The Shoeman Brogan and finally onto an unmarked Morrison and the ball over the bar to make it 0-6 to 0-2. 

1983 All Ireland winner Ciaran Duff is a Fingallians legend who scored a wonder goal at the beginning of the 1989 Leinster Final. The Legacy of Duff and that goal lives on when, at the kick out, Fingallians won the kick out and went on a carbon copy solo run from that goal in 1989. Unfortunately, the Fingallians player overcarried at the key moment! Michael ‘The DJ’ Cahill, took the free out, and the result was a Kelly point from play. Another Duff style solo run did get a shot in but was stopped on the line by Niall McManus, St Brendan’s counter attacked thanks to Ger Bannon and Nicky McCafferty, and a Kelly kick pass outside the right boot found Morrisson and another point, his 6th, to make it 0-8 to 0-2. 

Another Fingallians shot was saved by Mr. Twitter Eoghan Clogher and out for a 45, which went wide, but still managed to notch up a third point as the first half ended. 

The Progressive Credit Union Half Time Score: St Brendan’s 0-8 Fingallians 0-3. 

Whatever was said in the Fingallians Half Time team talk had the desired effect as the men from Swords had the contest level 0-8 to 1-5 three minutes into the second half. 

Andy ‘The Kei Truck’ Kelly steadied the ship with a point from the outside of the right boot with the Fingallians backs around him, after good work from McCafferty and Kevin Berry. 

The away side kept attacking and McManus managed to bungle his marker over the end line and wide when in a good position. A sideline ball found The Castlebar Mitchell Colm Harte who played a good ball to Kelly and then McCafferty for another score to open a two-point lead, which only lasted 45 seconds due to a sixth point for Fingallians to make it 0-10 to 1-6. 

10 minutes to go and for the first time, the away side took the lead with a brace of points, the second of which was from an Advanced Mark. A free in from McCafferty went wide, much to the annoyance of John Tuffy and Martin Ryan. 

27:30 gone in the second half and a shot from Fintan Culhane went over the bar, and despite the umpire waving wide, the referee gave the score to make it 0-11 to 1-9, still a one-point deficit, which became two seconds later. 

McCafferty won a free in 30 meters out, launched a big Garryowen into the large square where Culhane won possession and was pushed in the back, a free in was awarded which the referee moved straight in front of goal due to Fingallians protestations and were still protesting when Cillian Morrisson unleashed his inner Mikey Sheehy and took the free in quickly and yielded a very crucial goal for St Brendan’s as the contest went into injury time. 

Not realizing the game was at 10am and taking a taxi which arrived 15 minutes after throw in, Free Now Franklin O’Reilly came on as a late sub and produced superb defending to defend the one-point lead, but the ball was turned over in the middle third and an equalizing point from play resulted. 

The referee blew for full time after Eoghan Clogher’s kick out and a level game was the result, but Martin Ryan will be furious over how his side blew a half time 5 point lead at half time, but at the same time, praised Cillian Morrison whose goal rescued what could be a priceless League point come the end of the season. 

Next up is an away fixture against Whitehall Colmcilles on May 21st. 

Final Score from Longmeadows, St Brendan’s 1-11 Fingallians 1-11.