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Summerhill falter at first hurdle

by Fergal Lynch  Updated: Wednesday, 16th November, 2011 4:53pm

St Brigid's 2-15, Summerhill 0-11

Sean Dalton looks to avert the danger for Summerhill.

There can be no complaints following Summerhill's Leinster Club SFC defeat by St Brigid's at Pairc Tailteann on Sunday. The Dublin champions were the superior side, plain and simple.

Summerhill can reflect and curse the bad luck that saw them concede the opening goal in the 16th minute when Ken Kilmurray's speculative drive took a wicked deflection off Davy Dalton and looped over goalkeeper Tony McDonnell.

They can also look back at goal chances for David Larkin and Paul Rispin that weren't taken and the loss of Adrian Kenny after 11 minutes to injury, but the simple facts of the matter are that St Brigid's were the better side and deserving of their victory.

The explosiveness, athleticism and pace of the Blanchardstown men was awesome. The steel in their defence and drive from midfield bore all the hallmarks of their coach Gerry McEntee and they were impossible to contain.

Summerhill can't claim to have been dominant in any sector. Sean Dalton, Rispin and Kenny, for the brief few minutes he was on, did enjoy some decent spells, while Caolan Young and Micheal Byrne can also be pleased with some of their contributions, but St Brigid's were magnificent.

There were reservations about the health of the St Brigid's players following their week-long celebrations after winning the Dublin SFC with a 0-10 to 0-8 win over St Oliver Plunkett's, but those worries were quickly dispelled.

Barry Cahill was the dominant figure at midfield and produced a master class. Former Ipswich Town goalkeeper Shane Supple was assured between the posts and Alan Daly and Martin Cahill also caused problems going forward to add to their defensive work.

With so much possession available it was left to Paddy Andrews and Philly Ryan to evenly contribute 10 points between them, nine from play, as Summerhill were bamboozled throughout.

The master class got underway within a minute when Ryan struck for the first of his three opening-half points. Sean Dalton was lively in the opening minutes when Summerhill threatened to make life difficult and he quickly restored parity.

Kenny edged the Meath champions ahead with his sole contribution, but more Summerhill indiscipline saw Willie Ryan foul Andrews and after a few words of dissent Mark Cahill pointed the simplest of frees.

Again Summerhill managed to get their noses in front when Sean Dalton finished off a great move that involved Stephen Husband and Conor Gillespie, but then St Brigid's found another level that also coincided with Kenny's departure.

Andrews showed his class to bring St Brigid's level for a third time and when Ryan edged them ahead for the first time since the opening minute at the end of the first quarter the Dublin champions never looked back.

As well as being supremely superior St Brigid's also enjoyed the bigger slices of luck. After winning a kickout Martin Cahill and Mark Cahill combined to pick out the in-rushing Kilmurray and his shot at goals took a wicked deflection off Davy Dalton and looped over McDonnell to make it 1-4 to 0-3.

The second goal four minutes later also had an element of luck as Barry Cahill was suspiciously close to being in the square as he pawed at Andrews' centre to deflect it past McDonnell. Summerhill's protests yielded a yellow card for Caolan Young and fell on deaf ears.

Freed from the burden of tracking Kenny, Daly stretched St Brigid's lead to 2-5 to 0-3. Summerhill wasted a great chance to pull a goal back when Larkin punched Husband's centre straight to Supple.

On the counter-attack Martin Cahill was denied a goal by Young's brilliant block before Ennis ended a 17 minute scoring drought with a simple free after Rispin had been fouled.

However, St Brigid's continued to dominate against the wind and after a wasteful '45' from Ennis they countered with Ryan pointing his third and Andrews contributing his second to secure a 2-7 to 0-4 interval lead.

With manager Declan McCabe's words ringing in their ears Summerhill's started the second-half in determined fashion and began eating into the nine-point interval deficit when Bobby Lyons drove over inside 15 seconds.

Two minutes later Rispin should have done better when Sean Murray lost possession but he had to settle for a point and when Micheal Byrne added a 13-metre free in the 35th minute Summerhill sensed a miraculous recovery.

However, it wasn't to be. Stung by Summerhill's mini revival, St Brigid's settled back into their groove. Ryan continued where he left off with a fine point and after John O'Loughlin was fouled Mark Cahill had the simple task of tapping over to make it 2-9 to 0-7 with 21 minutes remaining.

Ennis kept Summerhill in with an outside chance with a free after Gorman had been fouled, but the Dublin champions were simply too good.

Ryan and the impeccable Andrews restored their nine-point cushion before the end of the third quarter and eight minutes from the end that lead was out to 11 points, 2-13 to 0-8, when Ken Darcy and Andrews pointed.

Two frees from Ennis either side of a fine effort from Gillespie added a modicum of respectability to the scoreboard for Summerhill, but it was St Brigid's who still had plenty in the tank with late points from Andrews (free) and Lorcan McCarthy emphasising their supremacy and dumping Summerhill out of the running for provincial glory.

SCORERS

St Brigid's - P Ryan 0-5; P Andrews 0-5 one free; K Kilmurray 1-0; B Cahill 1-0; Mark Cahill 0-2 frees; A Daly 0-1; K Darcy 0-1; L McCarthy 0-1.

Summerhill - B Ennis 0-4 frees; S Dalton 0-2; A Kenny 0-1; B Lyons 0-1; P Rispin 0-1; M Byrne 0-1 free; C Gillespie 0-1.

THE TEAMS

St Brigid's - Shane Supple; Alan Daly, Martin Cahill, Graham Norton; Colin Freeman, Sean Murray, Gavin Kane; Barry Cahill, Cian Mullins; John O'Loughlin, Paddy Andrews, Mark Cahill; Ken Kilmurray, Ken Darcy, Philly Ryan. Subs - Lorcan McCarthy for K Kilmurray 40 mins, Odharn McCann for Mark Cahill 42m, Craig Kilmurray for Darcy 56m, Daragh Plunkett for Daly 57m, Jack Kelly for Norton 58m.

Summerhill - Tony McDonnell; Davy Dalton, Caolan Young, Willie Ryan; Stephen Husband, Richie Hatton, Michael Gorman; Micheal Byrne, Conor Gillespie; David Larkin, Brian Ennis, Sean Dalton; Paul Rispin, Stephen Kennedy, Adrian Kenny. Subs - Bobby Lyons for Kenny 11 mins, Kenny for P Rispin 40m, Gary Rispin for Gorman 42m, Ross Tallon for Husband 49m, Paul Comey for Kennedy 52m.

REFEREE

Fergal Kelly (Longford).