Match Reports 2002

24-03-2002 V Round Towers (L) - Lusk

Lusk Bite the Dust

St. Brendans kept in tact their stunning 100% away-game record with a workman-like performance against last year’s divisional champs- Round Towers Lusk. In the end it was a clinically finished goal by the veteran forward Michael Munnelly that separated the two sides, the trickster finishing off a great move involving another Brendans stalwart John Mullen.

It was a special day for Mullen, who had just come from the Rotunda Hospital where the latest of the Mullen Dynasty, Tiernan, had just been born. A beaming John when asked of the baby’s size was heard to quip, " 9 lbs 3 ounces, big for a baby-small for a turkey."

St. Brendans started off brightly, John Roland dominating the midfield exchanges and Niall Reilly making some telling runs through the middle. Points from Munnelly, Reilly and John Moore kept the Gormanites narrowly ahead in the first half- and then came the score that sent the Brendans subs, managers and supporters into raptures of excitement! Munnelly’s goal put Brendans well ahead, a lead they would not surrender for the rest of the match.

This was by no means a niggly game, although the referee seemed intent on showing his fancy coloured cards as often as possible. Niall Reilly, in the thick of the action right from the off, was shown yellow after 13 minutes and then, even though he was a marked man, proceeded to throw his not-inconsiderable bulk around the place until he got his final warning. Luckily, Niall decided at this point to "disappear" until half time.

Round Towers centre-back, Jimmy Nail, was shown a straight red card for an awkward high tackle on Reilly.

Although Brendans began the second half brightly, Round Towers started putting a good deal of pressure on the travelling team’s half back line. Some desperate defending by Jim MC O Sullivan, Conall MC O Sullivan and Eddie, the new lad from Donegal limited the Lusk hotshots to a few points. At one stage Round Towers drew level and it looked like Brendans would capitulate.

Not so. With Stephen Cawley playing as the extra man, he started to revel in the role. Drifting out of his accustomed full-back position he began to be adventurous, and even had the odd pot-shot at goal. Needless to say he didn’t score, but the intent was there! Cawley’s lengthy kick-outs were also a feature of the match.

In midfield Mark and John Roland began again to run the show and some direct running by Roland enabled Aidan Mullen and the younger and more astute of the Bolands to notch up telling points. With Joe Cassidy coming on for a second bite at the cherry after an injury to Kilmeena’s finest, John Moore, Brendans dug deep and sealed victory with points from Mullen Snr and Reilly, who apparently learned everything he knows from the great Willie Joe Padden.

So Brendans march on. A poor turnout was forgotten about after this monumental victory.

Cian Boland

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Brendans Scorched by O‘Dwyers Balbriggan

O'Dwyers     1-14
St Brendans 2-08

Right from the off this game had a Championship feel to it. Freshly promoted Brendans, the pretenders to the much-talked-of Dublin Junior 5 throne, were up against last year’s league champions O’ Dwyers of Balbriggan. The game started off at a fierce pace, with Micheal Munnelly was calling for the water bottle even before the ball was thrown in.

O’Dwyers started off brightly, some slick moves from their forwards seemed to confuse the away back-line. However, some great defending from Mark Crehan and the full back line kept the strongly supported home team to just a couple of points in the first 10 minutes. Brendans didn’t have much possession (Sky Sports 2 reckoned it was as much as 65-35% in favour of O’ Dwyers), but when they came upfield and past the ’45 they looked like a team who could play ball. A well-worked goal up-ended the Dark Force.

With O’ Dwyers having opened up a 3 point lead by the 20^th minute, Brendans needed inspiration from somewhere – and it came in the form of a goal by Captain fantastic Mark Boyle. After some diligent work by Cian Boland and Niall Reilly, Boyle catapulted himself into the path of Reilly’s thru-ball and directed it past the O’Dwyer’s keeper, who incidentally looked like Jan Molby on steroids.

Although the older of the Mullens was having a quiet afternoon up to this stage, his younger and more illustrious sibling had a great half, scoring one great point from play and a free from the ground that Brian Stafford would have been proud of. Onimously, the Balbriggan crowd opened up a lead, and just as it appeared Brendans would go into the tunnel 3 points down at half-time, Brendans strung a great move together. With Reilly again the provider up stepped Mullen Snr to crack home an unstoppable 5 yard drive!

In the second half the Brendans defense was under severe pressure and with Reilly and McEntee unable to control the midfield Stephen Cawley and Shane Foley were forced to pull off some great defending to keep the score respectable. Foley was more concerned with keeping the "robust" no. 13 at bay than being at work on time at 4.30pm – fair play.

With Munnery notching up 3 further points, Brendans managed to draw level with about a quarter of an hour left. O’ Dwyers went ahead again, back came Brendans with a point from McEntee and a 60 yard effort from the only Boland on show for the day.

It was at this point that O’ Dwyers fitness proved the telling factor. In the searing summer heat (about 17 degrees, but it felt a lot hotter!) the Gormanites seemed to die a little – Stephen Butler complained of heat stroke after the game and asked to be rushed to hospital. Unfortunately, there wasn’t time as somebody wanted to see the end of the FAI Final, but Butler is okay as far as we know…..

3 points was the final margin in favour of the Balbriggan side, deserving winners it has to be said, although it was a performance The Dark Force can be proud of.

Cian Boland

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28-04-2002 V Garristown - Garristown

Bad Day in Garristown

Garristown   0-15
St Brendans 1-06

‘Twas a dark and cold oul day out in Garristown, practically in Meath where The Gormanites picked up their third consecutive defeat – at least they are finally getting consistent, consistently loosing that is! The game was somewhat overshadowed by the National League Final, although there was a healthy turnout, proving that the support is still there at grass-roots level….

Once again it was the whistle and smart mouth of the one and only Ollie Lawless who dictated the game. Conditions were poor at best and Brendans were missing some of their more permanent stars through injury and various other miscellaneous excuses. Munnelly was doing exams, John Mullen was wetting the baby’s head below in Cross and Ed Stones was apparently "unavailable for selection" for reasons best known to Ed. All this, coupled with a delayed throw in (due to crowd trouble) meant that Brendans were against it before a ball was kicked!

Playing against a stiff wind and a hill that looked like the left side of Nephin, Brendans gave an honest first half performance that they can actually be proud of. Garristown went ahead with 3 frees from half back Seamus Moynihan and stretched the lead to 7 points to 0 inside the first 20 minutes. It could honestly have been more, was it not for the efforts of Padraig Lohan and Mark Boyle, Boyle dropping back to centre back for the day and turning in a fine performance.

Brendans hit back with an Aidan Mullen special, also a point from debutant Eoin Tipperary, and were happy to go in at the break down by ONLY 8 points – not a bad return against the wind, hill and particularly the referee. All this after the game was stopped 5 minutes in, due to an injury to Brendans star centre-forward and Newstalk 106’s own Niall Reilly. Joe Cassidy had the Nokia in the hand to ring an ambulance, with Reilly lying prostrate on the ground, blood running from a nasty gash to the mouth after he collided with a team mate. Fortunately Reilly was able to continue and thankfully we’ll all get to hear the news today on the radio as well due to his speedy recovery!

After about 5 minutes of the second half it was clear that it wasn’t to be the Gormaites’ day. After a forceful gale blew down the pitch the whole first half, the wind died completely and with Butler and Eoin unable to win clean ball in the centre of the field, Garristown regained control of the game. Although Brendans had some great performances in the backline from Aidan, Mark Compaq and young Lohan, Garristown pulled further ahead with points from Michael Donnellan and Maurice Fitzgerald.

Mullen Jnr., Eoin and Reilly all got on the scoreboard to make the scoreline somewhat more respectable. Although the game was stopped with 15 minutes left due to a few hailstones (the fat ref couldn’t hack the pace), Brendans couldn’t get on top. Mullen won a penalty, which was duly buried by Boland Jnr., taking over the place kick responsibility in Jurgen Munnelly’s absence.

Final score was 16 points to Brendans 1-7. It wasn’t a bad loss, but it wasn’t a win either! Best for Brendans were Eoin in the middle (one to watch for the future, getting a call up for Tipp after that performance), Boyle and Reilly. The high point of the day was the trip to Delaney’s and some savage pints that evening. Brendans are now gearing up for midweek football with the league about to start up and will be hoping that they can get their season back on track with a hope win against Balinteer. Watch this space………………

Cian Boland

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02-05-2002 V Ballinteer St Johns - Grangegorman

St Brendans              2-07
Ballinteer St Johns  1-10

Turning Point in 2002 Season as The Dark Force Fights Back!

There were scenes of hysteria and jubilation as the Grangegorman Gang ended a 3-match loosing streak, one of the darkest periods in the club’s long history according to the media. Brendans trailed Balinteer St Johns by a massive 6 points at the interval, but were assured by inspirational Manager, John "Club Membership is Due" Brennan that the game was well within their grasp.

On a perfect evening for top quality football, the game started off at a fierce pace with Balinteer dominating the opening exchanges. The mountainy men were 3 of points up inside 10 minutes and were exerting some serious pressure on Brendans backline.

Brendans were limited to a few flurries up the hill and a Cian Boland free kept the home team in touch. Then, after a one good ball and a couple of lucky breaks, one of Kilmeena’s "Nearly men", John Ryan (recently back from a career break) stole through the defence and slotted the ball Roy Keane-style into the corner of the net. It was a sweet finish from the man they call " That Useless Eejit….".

Brendans seemed to loose the run of themselves for the rest of the half. The home defence it appeared were intent on laying lovely passes off to the Balinteer men, who were only too glad to oblige and slot the ball over Aidan Carroll’s blackspot! Obviously, the ball-drills before the game had worked a treat because Brendans seemed to pass the ball chest high to the Balinteer forwards every time, illustrating that training does count in match situations. Brendans were down 1-1 to 1-7 at the break.

A bright start to the second half did the home team the world of good. Aidan Mullen seemed to awake from his slumber and Brendans pulled a couple of points back early, although it must be said that wayward shooting was also a feature. Butler and Eoin in centre-field started winning some ball, ably assisted by Ryan and the backs seemed to get on top of their men well, with Conall the Hitman Boland and Cormac O Donnell making some telling challenges. With the likes of Stiofan Cawley and Jamie Baggins laying the foundation for attack The Dark Force stung back with a Mullen cross and Ryan was again the hero, turning the ball in off the post as Balinteer’s old geezer keeper stood motionless on the line – that’s the last time they let him out of the retirement home for a game! Game on.

It was tit for tat point-scoring after that. Balinteer were well capable of opening up Brendans from play it has to be said, and clipped over 2 or 3 nice points to stay 2 points ahead. Brendans were kept in touch by 4 frees from Cian "Studly" Boland, who capitalised on St. Johns mouthing at the referee and punished them to keep Brendans in the hunt for a victory.

Mark Mc Entee got in on the act by scoring a point from close range, he seems to be making a habit of scoring the odd point when he decides to turn up! Fair play Mark.

With 6 minutes left Boland Jnr tapped over a free to bring Brendans within 2 points. With the Gormanites streaming forward like men hungry for a win, Mullen put the minimum between the teams. The tension was palpable……. Ryan won the ball in midfield and played a quick long ball to the mercurial Boland Jnr, who spotted Eoin on the run. After collecting the ball at full tilt, the Tipperary man held his nerve to slot the ball over and level terms. It was a fitting end to a great game of football, and the videos should be on the shelves in 3-4 weeks, it shall be called "Brendan’s The Fight Back 2: Battle at the Gorman".

Cian Boland

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12-05-2002 V Ballyboden St Endas - Grangegorman

St Brendans                3-15
Ballyboden St Endas 1-09

Ballyboden Get a Dose of St. Brendan’s Medicine!

If the turning point in the season was Brendan’s draw with Ballinteer, this game was confirmation of The Gormanites worthy status as Division 5 contenders. Played on a scorcher of a day on the northside, this game was defined by some incisive Brendan’s midfield and forward play and a good deal of dogged defending. Far be it from this reporter to single out any player in particular, but of the defenders…Stephen "I wasn’t Wearing my Contacts" Butler and Conall Boland kept things together at the back, Mc Entee and Reilly controlled the midfield and the 2 Mullens were inspirational up front.

The Dark Force started off very strongly indeed with Boland Jnr settling the side down with a free from way out on the wing. When the Gormanites let the ball do the work there was literally no stopping them. Stretch Mullen was reeking havoc at full forward, his unorthodox playing style was very deceptive, although his finishing suggested that he should have been playing for Carlow and not Brendan’s! With 10 minutes gone, the same man scooped a ‘bouncing ball’ off the ground, laid it off to his younger and more accurate brother Aidan, who unleashed an unstoppable drive into the top corner of the net!

For the next few minutes Brendan’s dominated and tacked on a couple more points from Cian ‘Studly’ Boland and another from Mullen. Joe O Toole was enjoying Stephen Cawley’s absence by putting in a great full-back display. According to some experts, O’ Toole is third in the full-back pecking order behind Cawley and Cormac McDonnell. However, the selection committee will find it difficult to replace him come Championship time if he keeps turning in displays like on Sunday…..the same could be said of Mark at half-back who upped his performance mightily (perhaps this was due to the presence of that special someone on the sideline!!).

Brendan’s led 1-6 to 1-3 at the break and there were some worried looks on the faces of the selectors, who were quick to remind the Gorman Gang that they were against the hill AND the wind for the following 35 minutes. This seemed to rally the troops and Brendans came out all guns blazing, Cian notching up a free and Niall Newstalk Reilly putting in some tough challenges and making a general nuisance of himself for the Ballyboden backs.

Enda’s stayed with Brendans for long periods, but the turning point came when Mullen Jnr latch on to a flick and adjusted his footing just enough to slot the ball soccer-style past the keeper. This had goal of the season written all over it. Eoin at centre-forward burst through the middle and held his nerve to beat the keeper in a one-on-one. Tom at half forward ran through one of their backs like a train (dislocated yer man’s shoulder accidentally in the process), held his composure to slot a nice score over, Butler ventured upfield and lived up to some long-term potential by slotting over the point of the day!

This was a morale-boosting win for the Dark Force, who are now 4 games unbeaten and it looks like they could be getting things together right on cue for the Championship. Talk of €127 a week for panel members has died down since the team has got back to winning ways, and even Frank Hynes is happy with where he is in goal after giving up on getting the nod for Japan from Mc Carthy.

It was a great day for the Parish…….

Final Score : St. Brendan’s 3-15 Ballyboden St. Enda’s 1-9

St. Brendan’s Scorers

Mullen Jnr : 2-3
Mullen Snr : 0-1
Eoin : 1-1
Boland Jnr : 0-3
Ciaran Collins : 0-1
Seamus : 0-1
Reilly : 0-2
Tom : 0-1
Butler : 0-1

Cian Boland

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19-05-2002 V O'Dwyers - Grangegorman           

Mullen Doubtful for League Clash as Brendans Suffer Defeat to Balbriggan

St Brendans                  0-11
O'Dwyers                      1-12

With St. Brendan’s squad already decimated through injury, exams and drink-related absences, the team was dealt another blow yesterday when star forward Aidan Mullen Jnr picked up a nasty wrist injury in a 4 point loss to O'Dwyers. Backroom medical staff are currently working frantically to try and get Mullen fit for Thursday night’s league match in the Gorman. John Brennan has put off naming his squad for Thursday’s match until he’s sure of Mullen’s availability (team to be announced after coin toss between captains..).

Sunday’s defeat was the second such result this season to the see-siders, who looked very beatable on the day, although the Dark Force failed to land the killer punch early in the second half.

Brendan’s activity on the transfer market has been very astute lately with some good purchases being made, none other than Wexford’s answer to Sean Og de Paor – Trevor Donovan who made an impressive display at half-back. O'Dwyers lively forwards were kept on a tight reign in the first period with Joe O’ Toole and Jim Gannon putting in some telling challenges. Playing with a slight breeze at their backs The Gormanites forward line was also impressing, in particular John Mc Manus. With Niall Reilly and Stephen Butler contesting well at midfield, Brendan’s tapped over some sweet scores through Cian Boland (at centre-forward for the day), Aidan Mullen, John Mc Manus and Reilly, who put in "an aggressive display" in the middle and actually caught some ball for a change…

The score at the break was Brendan’s 0-8 0-4. Things were looking good for the Doctors and Nurses…

Things started off well in the second half for the Northsiders. Conall Boland thwarted (great word) an O'Dwyers attack and the ball was passed swiftly up-field where his younger, stockier brother slotted the ball over nicely. O'Dwyers hit back with a goal, before John Mc Manus did his Championship aspirations no harm with a well-taken score. Then came the incident that will haunt Brendan’s full-forward for the rest of his days. After a move down the left involving Butler et al, the ball was played in to John Mullen, who was but 7 yards out with only the rather large keeper to beat. The marksman, usually deadly from 7 yards out, made a swing at the ball that Tiger Woods would have been proud of, but he inexplicably scuffed his shot and the ball trickled wide to the amazement of the crowd (some bird sitting on Brendan’s bench, as of yet unknown). Not one of Mullen’s finer moments, he was advised by Niall Reilly, in an attempt to console the distraught Mullen.

Up the other end, the other crowd got in for a poxy-enough and little deserved goal, after they narrowed the gap with a couple of frees. Brendan’s now faced an up-hill battle (we were playing down-hill, but against the breeze…) . The team fought bravely to stay in touch with Cian Boland scoring 2 more points. It was obvious it wasn’t their day when The Gormanites had 2 good goal opportunities blocked in the last 10 minutes.

Final score in the game was St. Brendan’s 0-11 O'Dwyers 1-12. A 4 point loss. This defeat was compounded by the fact that Brendan’s were without star substitute and leading cheque-signer Padraig Lohan, and players who graced Delaney’s afterwards were not impressed. One Brendan’s defender (let’s just call him J. Gannon, no, Jim G.) was heard to comment, " It’s just not on. I come down here killing myself training and playing for this club and this is the respect I get?! Not only do I not get €127 a week, they won’t even buy me a pint after the game. I mean, not even a rock shandy or a lucozade or something!"

Thankfully this was only the poxy cup, which Brendan’s are out of anyway and no more points were lost in the league. A good turn out is expected on Thursday evening. Any player not turning up for the game will be fined a week’s wages. You have been warned!

Cian Boland

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23-05-2002 V Raheny - Grangegorman           

A Lot Done, More to do

Brendans last night showed vision, with purpose – to gain revenge for a Cup defeat earlier in the season to Raheny, who will return to the seaside with their tails between their legs, having witnessed one of the all-time Great St. Brendan’s Displays. And all this achieved without the likes of Stephen Cawley and Aidan Mullen, who has now taken over the coveted player-manager role in the absence of Philip Breslehan.

Brendans supporters and backroom staff must now be licking their lips in anticipation of an extended summer Championship campaign after this performance, with competition for starting places incredibly intense. With the imminent return of the prodigal son Roy ‘I Want my Lolly Pop’ Keane to the Brendan’s fold, grounds staff are working frantically round the clock to get the playing and training surfaces in The Gorman up to scratch. Apparently, the locals have absolutely no problem with the Hospital grounds and are happy to use them for ‘recreational’ activities on Thursday evenings…..as Niall Reilly and Studly Butler witnessed first-hand!

This was a classic first-half performance from The Gorman Gang, after the cobwebs were cleaned off the shooting boots Brendans played some flowing football that Raheny just couldn’t cope with. John Roland and Big Mark Mc Entee in the middle of the park were superb, dominating and creating the extra man for well-worked scores. It would be unfair to single out in any back in particular, with all 6 having a fine game. Up front Magic John Mullen was looking lively and after a spate of point blank misses, he gathered the ball from the kick-out and struck a sweet point from well out. Cian Boland tapped over 3 tricky frees in the first period, add to that scores from Roland and Mc Entee and you have the Gormanites winning by 0-8 to 0-2 at the break.

Villain of the day was Shane Foley for close-lining the little dwarf man around the neck. He was a tricky little customer and he let Foley know he meant business early on.

The second half was a scrappy affair, broken only by individual pieces of magic from the likes of Roland, Boland and Reilly. Roland kicked a massive sideline from way out on the left, and this was probably the final nail in the Raheny coffin. Boland Jnr kicked 3 more nice frees (the shooting boots were on that day), Ciaran from Tuam kicked 2 points after coming on for a jaded Mark Boyle, who had given his all as usual. Mike Campbell thrilled the masses of fans with a smartly-taken score, as did Eoin Carroll, and Burly Tom Burke got in on the act.

There was no let-up in the Brendans forward thrust, even when Raheny got in for a poxy goal – their one and only moment in a Dark Force-dominated game. The final score was 0-21 to 1-5. Such a scoreline has not been seen in the Stoneybatter district since the Nurses beat the Patients in a charity game back in 1962.

With the Championship but 2 weeks away, the atmosphere around Grangegorman is electric. Should Brendans keep fitness levels as they are now – absolute PEAK levels- then the Dark Force have every chance of progressing to the latter stages. There will be a full report on Newstalk 106 FM tonight AT 8.30pm.

Cian Boland

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13-06-2002 V Naomh Barróg - Kilbarrick

Naomh Barróg     1-06
St Brendans         5-16

Rain and blue toilet water.

On a typical mid summer's eve the Boys from Black Stuff travelled in the driving rain to Kilbarrick, home of the green and red clad Naomh Barróg. The facilities were top class - clean, fresh smelling dressing rooms, showers and a toilet with blue water, even Roy Keane would have been impressed.

No ref, so one of the Barróg boys took up the whistle for the first half. Straight away St Brendans were on top of things, with J Ryan and McEntee Mark commanding the midfield area. Scores were slow to come by at first but gradually, similar to Ireland against the Arabians, we broke our opposition down and started potting some points.

Brendan's defense were solid as ever, mopping up the ball anytime it entered our half and frustrating the Barróg forward line. McDonnell and goalkeeper Shane Foley made some good catches in the small parallelogram and Joe O'Toole, Jamie and Steve De Butleir were dogged in their approach.

A cracking, 30-yard goal from John Moore plus some points from John stretch Mullen, Mark Boyle, Jay Ryan and Moore himself left the sides 1-7 to 0-2 at the break. A deserved half-time scoreline, after some trojan work from Trevor Donovan, John Michael and Boland Snr.

The second half started with some confusion, as somebody proverbially gave the ref a jersey and he went playing for Barróg. Before Joe Cassidy stepped up and did the needful, he made some telling changes - resting Hamstring Goggins by bringing on Mark Kinsella and replacing Ronan Curtin with Mullen Jnr, who passed a late fitness test in the car on the way to the match.

John Mullen with a stunning 2-5 score, ran riot in the second half, catching some great balls and lashing them over the bar from all angles. After two well taken goals, he was denied a third goal by referee Joe Cassidy who spotted a square ball from 60 yards. A fine performance indeed, surely now Pat Holmes has to stand up and take note.

Mullen Snr after the match refusing to believe that his third goal was disallowed and that those other two shots went wide.

Unfortunately the game was marred when captain Mark Boyle took a ferocious tackle which left his shoulder in bits - a later x-ray revealed no broken bones but a torn muscle. Boyle will be out of action for 4 weeks.

After 15 minutes of practicing his dummy, Munnery was finally brought into the fray in place of the injured captain. With the score at 3-10 to 0-5 the game was far from over and Munnery was right after the match when he said, "I made all the difference in the end"

Darren Devan and Kieran Collins were brought on to replace John Moore and John Michael (whom, I might add was in fine fettle with his potbelly restored to its original muscular state). The two subs put over some fine points.

Inspirational running down the left wing from Mullen Jnr led to Brendans 4th goal after a 30 yard pass (not a shot at goal as some early reports suggested) found the chest of Joe Doohan. Without hesitation Doohan slotted the ball nicely passed the anguished keeper. More suffering followed for the Barróg keeper when John Ryan floated a beauty in which was collected adequately by Mullen Jnr and directed to the corner of the net.

More points followed from Munnery, Mullen Snr, Mullen Jnr, Devan, Collins etc.

A special mention is required for unlucky former captain Conall Boland who had a couple of chances to put his name on the scoreboard but was cruelly let down by some very bad shooting.

An impressive performance from Brendans was the general consensus as pints were supped in the magnificent surrounds of the club bar upstairs. Well done to all the lads who came out in the rain.

Noted absentees; Cian Boland (a bad chest at him),   Stephen Cawley (AWOL),  Newstalk Reilly (on undercover reporting job) plus a few of the hurlers (Burke, Carroll etc) had a hurling game the previous evening.

A Mullen

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08-08-2002 V Kilmacud Crokes - Grangegorman

St Brendans            1 –10
Kilmacud Crokes     3 - 9

After a bright opening Brendans were defeated by Kilmacud on Thursday evening at a very wet Grangegorman. The home side just hadn’t had enough match practice in the last month and with Shane Foley, Steve Butler, J-Ry (shooting a new video in New York), Jim Gannon and Long John Mullen missing, the odds were against a home win.

This was a refixture of a game 3 weeks earlier when no ref. turned up and Brendans whooped the cocky southsiders. Amazingly no ref. showed again, and Joe Cassidy took on the role – Joe knows how to let the game flow and didn’t wear out the whistle but he was fair to both sides.

Nevertheless Brendans started encouragingly with star No. 6 Conall Boland bursting forth from the back and shooting straight over from 40 or 50 or it could have been 60 yards, his first score in 2 years and deserving of a match report in its own right. The celebrations were premature though, with Kilmacud coming straight upfield for a goal and a couple of points unanswered. Aidan Mullen and John Moore led the fight back and Cormac Mc Donnel and Steve Cawley were strong at the back for Brendans, but no-one could stop the big midfielder bursting through for a second goal 10 minutes later, and at half time 2 goals separated the teams.

Brendans re-emerged determined to fight back playing up the hill, but alas! The first score was a bad blow – another goal for Kilmacud: John Michael’s man got an inch of space for the first time all evening and made no mistake sending it low past Mark Kinsella – Utility Man - in the goals. JM explained that he stopped play when he heard a whistle but it turned out to be coming from the soccer pitch below! (foreign games!). He should have known Joe Cassidy wouldn’t be blowing the whistle I suppose…………Ed Stones advice in the dressing room afterwards was ‘Never Play the whistle".

A long spell of Kilmacud dominance followed but Jamie Goggins, Cawley and Mc Donnel stood firm at the back, and eventually Cathal Quigley at centre field lifted the siege. John Moore and Aidan Mullen got the forwards moving again and Darren Devane found his range. Joe Doohan worked hard and notched up another point. Captain Mark Boyle came on for 10 minutes – back from injury but as determined as ever.

Brendans clawed back the lead and a late goal from Jamie 'should be in corner back' Goggins gave some hope but the final whistle came too early in the end. Cawley got injured near the end and Stones re-entered the fray and did well at fullback, the 2 new lads – Eugene and Thomas – did well on the right wing. Cathal Quigley continues to show good form and had a couple of points to show at the end.

This was a good warm up for upcoming Championship action, but Brendans will need to be sharper by far if they are to get some silverware this year!

C Boland No.6

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25-08-2002 V Templeogue Synge St - Dolphin Pk

Last minute free takes St. Brendans to second round.

St. Brendan's 1-8
Synge Street- Tempelogue 2-4.

The man who could keep his head while those around were losing theirs was surely what was required at Dolphin Park on Sunday last and St. Brendan's Grangegorman were fortunate to have in their numbers just that man.  With a replay looking the likely outcome of this closely fought contest a dubiously awarded free kick was called against Synge Street and up stepped the only calm man on the pitch, John Moore to drive the forty yarder over the black spot and send the Black Forces into the second round for the first time in a number of seasons.

J Moore - very calm

Played in glorious sunshine and before a packed house ( some even chose to watch from the comfort of the flats which overlooked the pitch ) the game always had the look of one that would go down to the wire.

The St. Brendan's dressing room before the match was surprisingly calm when this reporter visited. Much of the credit for this must go to the manager Joe Cassidy, Joe has that laid back approach to life and to football and it would take more than an eminent championship clash to ruffle Joe's feathers. Lads rubbed on generous amounts of deep-heat and sun block with former captain Boland leaving the dressing room with a particularly flushed colour on his face after seemingly rubbing the deep heat onto his nose in error but enough medical attention was close at hand and disaster was avoided.

The game itself opened brightly and points were exchanged by both sides early on. Munnery landed a fourteen yard free which he felt would make it more difficult for the selectors to substitute him for a little longer. The left peg of Mullen Jr. was also on target early on as he glided past the defense for two moral boosting scores and Moore completed the first half scoring for the Gorman man. McEntee and marathon man Quigley in midfield delivered some fine ball in but all in all it was a poor start from the six forwards all of whom were unhappy with the return from what was a fair amount of possession. Steady Eddie Stones, Ronan and Mark Boyle fought hard but the scores were hard to come by. Fortunately for St. Brendan's the forwards of Synge St. were having a bad day at the races also and were getting no change from a tight and motivated St. Brendan's rearguard. Synge St. did manage to break down the Frank Hynes marshaled defense for a goal late in the half but poor shooting would cost them dearly.

The Brendan's backs were all over the Synger forwards like the proverbial cheap suit, must notably Trevor, Jim Gannon, Mark Kinsella and Paul who plays the expansive game of the injured and missed Niall Reilly in the way he charges up field and off loads the ball just before three half backs and a midfielder clatter into him.

The second half was as tight as the first and on more than one occasion Brendan's were relieved to be able to call on the experience and guile of fullback and all round hairy buck McDonnell who bounces corner forwards off himself to pass the time.

With the sun beating down Brendan's were lucky to be able to call on substitutes the caliber of Boland Jr., Conor O Brian and Paddy Bryan all of whom played a part on St. Brendan's second half recovery. Boland in particular showed the composure his older brother sometimes lacks by holding up possession in the Synger half to allow the other forwards return from defensive duties.

The turning point in the game came midway through the second half when a great move down the left wing found Boyler in possession on the 30, a perfectly flighted fist pass from him found Munnery on the edge of the small square, the veteran turned back the clocks and hit a shot in off the keeper from at least 4 yards.

Synge St. refused to give in however and fought back to level the match with only moments remaining.
Today however it was to be Brendan's day and revenge for first round exit at the hands of Synger was to be theirs.
Up stepped Moore for the last minute free and the rest as they say is history.

One rewarding aspect of this victory is that it was achieved without so many of the Brendan's greats being available, Mullen Sr., Ryan, John Michael and the Stephens were just some of the big names who were not available for selection for one dodgy reason or another and their return for the second round will only strengthen the Brendan's hand.

Picture of last Sundays championship squad can be seen on the home page.

Munnery

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29-09-2002 V St Marys (Saggart) -Grangegorman

Brendans March on to Championship Semi Final!

St Brendans 2-15
St Mary’s (Saggart) 1-6

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