Round 14 of the PTSB AFL6 and the final Wednesday evening fixture of the year saw the St Brendan’s Football 1st XV, sponsored by Dynamic Safety Solutions, face St James’s Gaels An Caisleán, who must avoid defeat to avoid relegation. For the home side, there is no promotion to fight for nor no relegation to avoid, but only for David ‘Players Please’ Beggy to try out players in certain positions and experience game plans with Junior 1 Club Championship coming up on August 9th. 

It was the home side who got the opening score of the game after 5 minutes from a free in. The Golden Mullet Conall Morgan then got tripped when in a good position and a free in was awarded. Playing with a strong breeze in the Garda Boat Club End, Diarmuid ‘No S’ Byrne decided to take the free outside the 40 meter arc and duly converted the free with a two pointer and the lead for The Dark Force. 

St James’ Gaels made it a Desmond with a single point, then produced a defence splitting move with a goal that was palmed into an open net, followed by a tight angled shot for a point. 

Stephen Durcan won a turnover and passed to Padraig ‘Ka Ying Rising’ McKenna and finally onto Eoin ‘Quinn Roux’ Fallon to kick a low shot into the back of the net to make it 1-3 to 1-2. St Brendan’s retook the lead with a two pointer again from Byrne after a James Gaels breach following an acrobatic save from Eoghan ‘The Bridge’ Clogher. 

James Gaels then retook the lead with two single points, but The Adventure Man Nicky McCafferty wrestled the lead back for St Brendan’s with a second goal after great work from Cillian ‘Mbappe’ Gallagher and Donagh ‘The Charming Man’ Morrissey. A minute later, Morgan had a goal opportunity but went for placement and not power and the shot went inches wide. 

After a wide from the away side, Clogher’s kick out was won by The Valley Rover Tadhg O Brien, who unleashed his inner Diego Maradona with a blistering solo run, evading tackles and calmly slotting the ball in the back of the net in a carbon copy of the 1986 Goal of the Century. Everyone in Longmeadows applauded O’Brien in appreciation of a goal created by the feet and brains of one man. 

Morgan did redeem himself with a point following brilliant fielding from Washington Sean Whelan. O’Brien was not finished yet and kicked a marvellous single which was also the last kick of the first half.  

Half time score St Brendan’s 3-6 St James Gaels An Caisleán 1-4. 

St James Gaels started the second half with a point, after a shot hit the butt of the post, they made no mistake second time around. The three Cork men of O’Brien, Fallon and Fergal ‘I Am Maximus’ Lyons combined for the first St Brendan’s score of the second half from Lyons.  

Clogher was in scintillating form with spectacular saves with Liam Nagle and Bryan ‘The Passenger’ Marley making clearances. One of Marley’s clearances made it all the way to O’Brien and another point, 3-8 to 1-7. 

O’Brien and Lyons teamed up again and set up McCafferty to move this way and that to kick the 9th St Brendan's point of the evening. Fallon scored another point after a great turnover from Durcan. 

But with 9 minutes to go, St James Gaels suddenly got their act together and beat Clogher for goal for the second time, another palmed ball into the empty net. 3-10 to 2-7. 

Shane ‘The Merc’ Feeney's concerns about the St Brendan’s late match collapse were realised when St James Gaels scored their third goal to put three between the sides with three minutes to go. 

After being in the wars for most of the second half, Tadhg O’Brien kept his head by scoring a huge point from play, huge as in critical in the outcome of the contest.  

In injury time, the away side held their nerve with a single and a two-point game, then won a free inside the 20 meter line. With wind advantage, they opted to take the free inside the 20 meter line but kick the ball to someone from outside the 40-meter arc who took his shot and as the ball sailed between the posts and the referee raised his two arms, the St James Gaels bench leapt up in delight with the match equalising two pointer. One could be forgiven for thinking they won the All Ireland, such was the delirium.  

But can anyone get a winner? O’Brien won crucial possession off a Clogher kick out, but the referee said, enough was enough and the Gaels got the League point they needed to maintain their AFL6 status for 2027. 

Disappointment from St Brendan’s with the draw which felt like a loss and now have to dust themselves down for a Sunday morning fixture away to Skerries Harps, who also this evening, thwarted Beann Eidair’s dream of a 100% record in AFL6 with a 1-6 to 0-9 draw. 

Final Score from Longmeadows, St Brendan’s 3-11 St James Gaels An Caisleán 3-11