Tierney's tour-de-force sends jubilant Daingean up to senior B

A SENSATIONAL performance from Shane Tierney was the big difference as Daingean grinded the life out of St Brigid's in a fiercely fought and terrifically entertaining local derby Intermediate Football Championship final in O'Connor Park on Sunday afternoon.

Tullamore Court Hotel Intermediate Football Championship final

Daingean 1-15

St Brigid's 2-8

Tierney was on fire from start to finish and it is rare for a player to dominate a game to the extent that he did. He tortured the St Brigid's defence from the throw in and the Croghan defence never got to grips with him He scored 1-8, 1-5 from play and played an assisting role in most of their other seven points.

The Croghan club will have nightmares about this and they also have to look at themselves as they got their match ups wrong. In an era where most managers will double team their opponent's marquee forward, St Brigid's opted against going down this road. In a way, it was nice to see this but it also contributed to their defeat and it was obvious to all observers of this grade that Daingean find it hard to win games if Tierney isn't their main forward.

Small in stature, St Brigid's also placed two even smaller men on him, giving him the opportunity to challenge for and win marks that he wouldn't do against bigger men. Sean Og Cocoman, a late call up, was placed on him from the start but Tierney had 1-5 scored by the time he was called ashore in the 41st minute. A switch needed to be made by the quarter way mark but Willie Molloy did not fare much better when drafted back – the experienced Molloy had to try something and he attempted to ruffle Tierney's feathers, which he briefly succeeded in as both players picked up yellow cards. For a couple of minutes Molloy turned to face Tierney but the lightening Daingean forward soon got free, adding three more super points and winning a free that Jamie Hayes fired over.

Without Tierney being in such great form, this would have been a very tight battle and St Brigid's might well have won it. They were second best the whole day, never fully igniting and only threatening a revival for a brief spell in the second half. It wasn't to be and apart from Tierney, Daingean had other players who rose to the challenge. Adam Bolger and Cathal Ryan were rock solid in their defence with Ciaran McEvoy and Steven Joyce attacking very well from the wings. Danny Mangan put in a great shift at midfield where Scott Milne persevered bravely, working hard, before being replaced as his error count was a small bit higher than he would have liked.

Up front, it was very much all about Shane Tierney and Daingean had a few players who didn't pose much of a scoring threat. Jack Connolly did pick off two points and while football is very much a fifteen man game, this one was down to one man to a significant extent.

St Brigid's had two top quality performers of their own. Dan Molloy was excellent at midfield, moving very well and picking off three points while Ben Kennedy's pace and skill brightened up the occasion. The young flier scored two goals of breathtaking quality and caused consternation any time he got the ball with open field ahead. On a different day, he would have been man of the match but it wasn't to be for St Brigid's.

They tried very hard and battled with typical determination but in the wind up they were found wanting. The veteran Bobby Troy couldn't manage a score up front and while county man Cian Donoghue did try to rally the forces in the second half, St Brigid's were up against it all day.

A fisted point from Shane Tierney opened the scoring in the fifth minute and set the tone for a first half where Daingean were clearly the better team. St Brigid's hung on grimly and were 0-3 to 0-2 behind after fourteen minutes but a 16th minute punched goal from Tierney gave a more accurate reflection of the way it was progressing – Tierney finished off a super move involving Cathal Ryan and Odhran Connolly.

Daingean went on to lead by 1-5 to 0-2 after 17 minutes and St Brigid's did very well to rally from here. A wonderful goal from Ben Kennedy gave them a 20th minute lifeline as Scott Milne lost the ball in midfield and he sped through the cover before arrowing a low drive to the net. Kennedy almost got in for a second goal before half time but the veteran Conal Curley pulled off a fine save. Liam Fox pointed the '45' and Daingean's 1-7 to 1-4 half time lead was not a big one considering how much better they had been in the first half.

Daingean were 1-10 to 1-6 ahead after 39 minutes and again St Brigid's dug deep. Kennedy's second goal was even better than his first as he dummied a player and fired to the net to bring it back to a point after 40 minutes.

Crucially Daingean got the next point, via Jack Connolly after a Tierney pass and from then on St Brigid's were sucking for oxygen. There was only three points in it, 1-13 to 2-7 with eight minutes left but Jamie Hayes' 55th minute free put four in it and finally, Brigid's heads dropped as the realisation that it wasn't going to be their day became inescapable. Ryan Conway had a quality goal harshly disallowed for barging into Liam Fox but it didn't matter to Daingean and they were never in peril in the closing minutes.

MATCH ANALYSIS

MAN OF THE MATCH

Shane Tierney (Daingean): An easy one to call on this occasion. Shane Tierney's 1-8 haul speaks for itself but he brought so much more to the table as everything he touched turned to goal. Ben Kennedy and Dan Molloy were the second and third best players on the field but outside of that, Daingean had a plethora of very solid performers and were very worthy winners.

THE SCORERS

Daingean: Shane Tierney 1-8 (2f and 1 mark), Jamie Hayes (1f) and Jack Connolly 0-2 each, Cathal Ryan (f), Scott Milne and Danny Mangan 0-1 each.

St Brigid's: Ben Kennedy 2-1, Dan Molloy 0-3, Liam Fox ('45'), Dillon Donoghue and Eunan Lawlor 0-1 each.

THE TEAMS

DAINGEAN: Conal Curley; Colm Brophy, Adam Bolger, James Kelly; Ciaran McEvoy, Cathal Ryan, Steven Joyce; Danny Mangan, Scott Milne; Cian O'Reilly, Shane Tierney, Casey Evans; Odhran Connolly, Jamie Hayes, Jack Connolly. Subs – Ryan Conway for Milne (41m), Charlie Hayes for Odhran Connolly (47m), Alan McEvoy for Brophy (56m), Jamie Duffy for Evans (58m), Davy Walsh for Mangan (58m).

ST BRIGID'S: Liam Fox; Conor Casey, Shay Hannon, Tadgh Galvin; Thomas Mooney, Cian Donoghue, Sean Og Cocoman; Rob Hoey, Dan Molloy; Liam Cocoman, Ben Kennedy, Dillon O'Donoghue; William Molloy, Bobby Troy,Sean Briody. Subs – David Boland for Galvin (HT), Eunan Lawlorfor Cocoman (41m), Jamie Leavy for Dillon Donoghue (52m).

Referee – Eamon O'Connor (Ballycommon).

REFEREE WATCH

Eamon O'Connor had a very solid display. He knew it would be a physical game and he stayed on top of things all day. The decision to disallow Ryan Conway's goal was questionable but it didn't matter and there were no big contentious issues here. Cathal Ryan and especially Dan Molloy were relieved to get yellow cards in the first half after Ryan put in a heavy hit on a Brigid's player and Molloy left him on the ground.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Shane Tierney's 16th minute goal was his easiest score of the day, laid on a plate for him by Cathal Ryan but it was also crucial as Daingean needed it to reflect their dominance at that point.

VENUE WATCH

On one of the busiest weekends for club football in the county, O'Connor Park was very busy and the pitch remained very solid for this one. Both clubs brought large support and they created a great atmosphere. Full marks to the Daingean supporters, apart from a small handful of women, who listened to the requests to stay off the pitch and not damage it for the senior final.

WHAT'S NEXT

Daingean are away to Louth in the first round of the Leinster Junior Football Championship on October 21.

STATISTICS

Wides: Daingean – 5 (3 in first half); St Brigid's – 3 (2 in first half half).

Yellow cards: Daingean – 2 (Cathal Ryan and Shane Tierney); St Brigid's – 3 (Rob Hoey, Dan Molloy and Willie Molloy).

Black cards: 0

Red cards: 0.