They now qualify to meet the winners of next Sunday’s Boston final in the North American semifinal in Boulder, Colo., over the Labor Day weekend.
This was a sluggish final. Cuchulainn won because they were successful in curtailing Harry Boland’s two most dangerous forwards, Kevin Flynn (Dublin) and Garret Johnson (Down). In addition, their most reliable marksman all year, David Martin (Meath), had an off day and was held scoreless. On the other hand, Cuchulainn’s marksman Colm Mullen (Clare) had a most productive day, scoring eight points, which earned him the player of the game award.
Though Harry Boland’s were the first to score, they were trailing from the 10th minute and were in arrears by three points at halftime. Cuchulainn continued to dominate in the early stages of the second half and stretched their lead with points from Paddy O’Connell (Offaly) and Pat Sheehan (Limerick). The introduction of Galwayman Liam Hogan midway through the third quarter temporarily changed the trend of the game. Shortly after his appearance he accepted a smart pass from Flynn to score a great goal and followed up with a point to narrow the gap to one point. The big crowd were bracing for a hectic final quarter but the Boland’s offensive efforts fizzled out and Cuhulainn regained the momentum, scoring three consecutive points.
ST. BRENDAN’S 1-21, PARNELLS 0-8
St. Brendan’s regained the Chicago Central division senior football title they last held in 2000.
There was little in the of excitement in this one-sided contested. In fairness to Parnells, they generated several rallies at the beginning of the last quarter. Had it not been for some erratic shooting by their forwards and several spectacular saves by the St. Brendan’s goalkeeper, Gordon Gallagher (Dublin), their margin at the end would have been greatly reduced. Feature of the game was the outstanding display of Rob MacGearailt, who was voted player of the match. The Kerryman ended the game with a personal scoring tally of 1-10. Parnells’ top marksman was Michael Mullen (Mayo), who scored 0-4.
ST. BRENDAN’S 1-13, PARNELLS 1-9
In what was by far the best game of last Sunday’s finals at Gaelic Park, St. Brendan’s junior footballers had to pull out all the stops in the second half to overcome a gallant Parnells team and retain their divisional title. The foundations of victory were laid in an excellent first-half display, as St. Brendan’s showed the class that brought them the national title last year. Excellent defending and availing of most scoring opportunities contributed to a 7-point lead, 1-8 to 0-4, at the interval.
While they were the dominant team in the opening half it was their scoring of a goal and a missed goal opportunity by Parnells in the final moments of the half that spelled the difference between the two team at the break. With just three minutes left in the half and St. Brendan’s enjoying a 3-point lead, Parnells were unfortunate not to tie the game when Brian Malone had just the goalkeeper to beat but his shot went high over the bar to narrow the gap to two points. Within a minute the ball was in the other net as St. Brendan’s top player, Andrew Coen (Galway), finished off a fine offensive move with an opportunist goal.
Facing an uphill battle in the second half, the mostly American-born Parnells staged several attacks. In the opening 10 minutes, while keeping the champions scoreless they scored 1-2 to put just two points between the teams. Their goal was scored by Frank Bradley and Sean Kenny notched both points. St. Brendan’s succeeded in regaining the momentum in the final stages, however, to gain a 4-point victory.
ST. BRIGID’S 4-19, ERIN’S ROVERS 2-7
The Rovers were the stronger team in exciting opening quarter and enjoyed an early 3-point lead. However, as time progressed, so did the quality of play by the St. Brigid’s, the defending NACB champions. Led by Meath county players Katie O’Brien and Mary Sheridan as well as Geraleldine Doherty from Donegal, the champions took total control of the game and built a 4-10 to 2-5 lead at the interval. They continued their dominance in the second half, outscoring the Rovers 2-9 to 0-2.
SAN FRANCISCO
SONS OF BORU 1-12, ULSTER 0-11
Sons of Boru who gave an impressive performance against a lackluster Ulster team in the senior football final. Up front, the Boru relied on the scoring exploits of Kerry import Eugene McGrath (1-3), Kevin Murray (0-4) and Joe O’Reilly (0-2) to help them claim their third championship in a row. In defense, Kevin O’Sullivan, Andy Fogarty, Mick Kenny, and the versatile Sean Shannon did not put a foot wrong all afternoon and they gave Ulster forwards Eugene Cudden and John Healy a torrid time. For Ulster, Austin McKenna, Damien Campbell, Mark Donnelly and Declan McAuley played well.
ULSTER 2-10, SEAN TRACEYS 0-13
The turnaround story of the year has got to be Ulster’s second team, which claimed the intermediate football title after having been on the verge of elimination a month ago. This final was an evenly contested game, with the sides level at halftime, 0-5 to 0-5. Paul Bayly (1-6) and Paul Harmon (0-4) were outstanding for Ulster. Bayly converted all of the frees and penalty goal, while Harmon slotted over points from play and played a big role in Brendan Cafferty’s goal.
Not to be outdone by Ulster, the Treacys, too, had fine individual performances: from John Cullinane (0-5), who kicked some excellent points from play, Tommy O’Connor (0-1) at half forward, Mark Gallagher in defense, and Darren Ward in the half forward line.
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CLAN NA GAEL 1-8, FOG CITY HARPS 2-4
The margin of victory could have been a lot bigger for the Clan na Gael had it not been for the outstanding goalkeeping of Annie Murphy in the Fog City goals. Margaret Bermingham was outstanding at full back and helped keep Fog City at bay on many occasions as she held the last line of defense solid. Michelle O’Leary was the Gael’s main scorer, with five points, and she was ably assisted by Donna Ni Chuinneagain (1-0), Olive Ennis (0-2), and Doreen Ni Aodhagain (0-1). The Gael half back line of Jennifer Dickson, Rebecca Biernat and Cathriona Carey played well afternoon. Fog City had good performances from Mirella Webb, Sarah Kelly, Anne-Marie Dixon, Ann Lindsey (1-1), Josephine Lynch (1-2), and Orsala Nodashi (0-1).