Gibbons goal the difference as Gerald’s oust the champions

Connacht PPS Senior ‘A’ Football Championship semi-final 

St Gerald’s, Castlebar 1-9 

Summerhill College 0-9 

Anthony Hennigan at Connacht CoE, Bekan 

It’s not what you do, it’s what you do when without it. That play on lyrics sums up perfectly just how St Gerald’s managed to dump last year’s All-Ireland senior finalists Summerhill College from this year’s Connacht championship. Summerhill failed to score at all when faced by the stiff wind during the first-half of Friday night’s provincial semi-final whereas St Gerald’s scored 1-2 against the same wind in the second-half, and that ultimately was the difference between two otherwise very evenly matched teams.

Summerhill, who used eight players who featured in last season’s Hogan Cup final in Croke Park, saw their defence of the Connacht title slide to a Castlebar team who, despite making a very lively start to the proceedings, could in no way be sure that their seven points interval lead would be enough cushion to see them through, such was the nature of the conditions at the Connacht GAA Centre of Excellence. But when Ryan Gibbons punched home a goal for St Gerald’s just four minutes into the second-half, that ultimately gave Summerhill too much mountain to climb.

St Gerald’s were 0-3 to no score ahead in jig time, with a foul on their attacking corner-back Yousif Coghill resulting in a converted free by Ryan Gibbons before Gavin Forry, after an excellent delivery inside by Gibbons, and Gibbons himself, struck points from play. Much of that early success was derived from a high press by the St Gerald’s team, with Cian Walsh alone responsible for forcing the Summerhill defence into three turnovers during the opening seven minutes.

Cathal Keaveney added his side’s fourth point and when Walsh and Dara Neary got in on the scoring act also, five of the six St Gerald’s forwards had all scored from play inside the opening sixteen minutes. However, when they added just one more point for the remainder of the half, that coming from a Gavin Forry free in the 28th minute, you wondered as to the significance of the five first-half wides they had kicked, and the couple of close range shots that full-forward Gibbons had dropped short, or the missed goal chance by Cian Walsh in the eleventh minute, after the great defensive work by Conall Durcan and swift upfield passing of Cathal Keaveney and midfielder Shane Cunningham which had created the opportunity. 0-7 to 0-0 was not the most convincing of leads given the wind speed – and had a 23rd minute goal attempt by Summerhill’s Paul Flynn, a chance created by Aaron Lang and Rian O’Callaghan, not skidded off the crossbar and back into play, then the second-half might have taken on a very different complexion.

As it was, Summerhill restarted in perfect fashion, with Conor Flynn nailing their opening point of the game inside 40-seconds, but another burst forward by Yousif Coghill was to fashion the game’s defining moment. Coghill’s attempt to point got caught on the wind and dropped on top of his St Gerald’s teammate Ryan Gibbons who beat ‘keeper O’Brien to the jump and punched home the game’s only goal.

Gibbons, from a free, would then negate another Conor Flynn point, and so St Gerald’s led 1-8 to 0-2 after 40-minutes, before five Summerhill points in-a-row, including a third from play by Flynn, who by now was giving an exhibition, substitute Eli Rooney, two, Cian Nicholson and Flynn again, this time from a free, narrowed the gap to four points, after which thirteen more minutes (stoppage time included) would still be played.

Summerhill were at this stage ravenous in their hunting down of the kickouts by St Gerald’s goalkeeper Sean Rabbette and worryingly for the Castlebar students, they had missed a couple of excellent scoring chances of their own during this spell, which could have helped disrupt Summerhill’s flow. Eventually, Ryan Gibbons did latch onto Cunningham’s loping ball into the top right corner and swung over, to leave St Gerald’s 1-9 to 0-7 ahead after 53-minutes.

Coached on the line by current and former Mayo footballers Diarmuid O’Connor and Michael Conroy, and by Kilmeena coach Eoin Sweeney and Castlebar Mitchels’ David Joyce, St Gerald’s were to remain under considerable pressure. Their centre-back Fionan O’Reilly was unfortunate to cramp up and concede possession that resulted in Conor Flynn, who scored two goals off the bench in last year’s All-Ireland final defeat to Omagh CBS, pointing for a fifth time for Summerhill, and it became a one score game in the 59th minute when Eli Rooney hit over a belting 45-metre free, but the four minutes of added time was loaded with stoic defending by St Gerald’s who managed to defend their goal and hold out to secure a Connacht final showdown with the Maurice Sheridan-managed Coláiste Bhaile Chláir. That game is scheduled to be played on Saturday, February 10.

Scorers – St Gerald’s: Ryan Gibbons 1-4 (0-2f), Gavin Forry 0-2 (1f), Cathal Keaveney, Cian Walsh and Dara Neary 0-1 each.

Summerhill: Conor Flynn 0-5 (1f), Eli Rooney 0-3 (2f), Cian Nicholson 0-1.

St Gerald’s, Castlebar: Sean Rabbette; Yousif Coghill, Muiris Ó Clochartaigh, Conall Durcan; Seanie O’Reilly, Fionan O’Reilly, Jack Prendergast; Patrick Flannelly, Shane Cunningham; Dara Neary, Gavin Forry, Cathal Keaveney; Evan Walsh, Ryan Gibbons, Cian Walsh. Subs: Joe Forry (for Walsh 50), Jude Lavin (for Neary 53), Christopher Geraghty (for F O’Reilly 56).

Summerhill College: Donnchadh O’Brien; Ronan O’Hehir, Stefan Roche, Oisin Caden; Joe Campbell, Rian O’Callaghan, Peter Kerins; Oran Harte, Eamon Keane; Eamon O’Mahoney, Cian Nicholson, Michael Carroll; Conor Flynn, Aaron Lang, Paul Lynn. Subs: Eli Rooney (for Lang ht), Darragh Scanlon (for Campbell 47), Sean McHale (for Nicholson 56).

REF: Dermot Lyons (Roscommon)