Northern Switchgear Antrim Senior Football Championship semi-final:
Erin’s Own Cargin 1-7 St Brigid’s, Belfast 0-7
From Brendan Crossan in Dunsilly
THERE was no love lost between these two sides at the final whistle. More than a few necklines of jerseys were either extended or ripped.
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“When it matters” were words uttered more than a few times from members of Cargin at the end – an unambiguous message to St Brigid’s who enjoyed their Division One final win over the Erin’s Own men earlier in the season.
When stakes and emotions are high, sometimes this is how club rivalry plays out.
Cargin are the undisputed top dogs in Antrim and St Brigid’s are ahead of the chasing pack trying to topple them.
For the second year running, they made a very decent fist of it - but came out on the losing end again. Both are scarring defeats for them.
It’s now over to Portglenone ahead of the October 13 final to deny Cargin a second three-in-a-row in quick succession, with Creggan Kickhams memorably breaking their neighbours’ hold on the coveted title in 2021.
Order was quickly restored after the final whistle, and as much as there was a lot of pulling and hauling at one another, there were just as many sportsmanlike handshakes between rivals.
Cargin have that great, intangible quality of knowing how to win tight championship games.
In the clutch moments, they do not panic.
When championship semi-finals, like Sunday’s tense affair, are inevitably boiled down to two or three game-defining plays, Cargin usually win them.
They see these moments coming long before their opponents and they are ruthless when it’s demanded of them.
Cargin goalscorer Paul McCann typified that champion mindset. When the ball was controversially turned over near their own 13-metre line, centre-back McCann was already on his bike.
With St Brigid’s trailing 0-7 to 0-6 and their defence caught up-field with five minutes of normal time remaining, McCann reacted unbelievably quickly to the turn over and galloped straight down the middle of the field.
It’s such a rare thing in Gaelic football when players have vast and unguarded acreage in front of them. What McCann needed though was someone to see him.
Cargin substitute Benen Kelly was that man. He flighted a beautiful diagonal kick pass in front of McCann.
It was one of those passes where McCann didn’t have to break stride as he raced towards Declan Heery in the St Brigid’s goal.
McCann was never going to miss either as he coolly side-footed the ball into the corner of the net.
It put Cargin four ahead. Even though there were roughly 10 minutes left to play, including stoppage-time, it was game over.
Cargin don’t squander hard-earned leads.
“When the game is still going on and you know you’ve won it, it’s brilliant,” beamed Cargin boss Ronan Devlin.
“I think we know it’s won before it’s won. I said if we go one up, we’d win this. And going further ahead we were not losing that game in a month of Sundays.”
Enda Downey, one of St Brigid’s most consistent performers all season, nailed his fifth point of the day in the third minute of stoppage-time, but that was the last score they could muster.
In search of an elusive three-pointer, St Brigid’s landed a few Hail Marys on top of John McNabb’s square - but the towering presence of Gerard McCann ensured that extra-time wasn’t required.
Last year’s semi-final defeat to the same opponent was hard to swallow for St Brigid’s – and they’ll be sore at referee Brendan Toland for a while for not blowing for a free when Cargin’s Jamie Gribbin made a robust challenge on Paul Bradley.
Toland viewed it as side on and a legitimate hit. No whistle was forthcoming.
Instead of St Brigid’s tapping over an equalising free, Cargin gobbled up the turn over, raced down the field and raised a green flag.
It ripped the heart out of St Brigid’s.
And for long periods, it looked as though St Brigid’s might just have enough in their locker to topple the defending champions and reach their first-ever senior final.
With a strong breeze at their backs, the underdogs led 0-4 to 0-1 at the break. But they never went for the jugular in the opening half and allowed Cargin to keep possession for long stretches.
The scoreboard didn’t move a muscle in the opening 27 minutes.
Supporters could have popped down to Dunsilly Hotel for an afternoon carvery and been back in time for the first score of the day – a well-taken free by Enda Downey, as it happened.
“The breeze was massive and we were obviously playing against it in the first half,” said Devlin.
“We just kept the ball and I expected St Brigid’s to try and get it off us, but they obviously didn’t. People watching on TV probably didn’t realise how strong that breeze was.”
For all of Cargin’s first-half conservatism they still should have raised a green flag but Jamie Gribbin’s 14th minute effort just missed the right-hand upright.
It took Cargin until first-half stoppage time to get off the mark, a Tomas McCann free while the first point from open play, courtesy of Calum Downey of St Brigid’s, didn’t arrive until just before Toland’s half-time whistle.
Cargin fell further behind – 0-5 to 0-1 – just after the restart but drew level with four unanswered points between the 38th and 44th minutes – and they edged in front for the first time thanks to Benen Kelly’s 49th minute conversion.
Afterwards, the Cargin manager was right to name-check Kelly for his awesome contribution after his 41st minute introduction.
He provided legs, an aerial weapon and brilliant kicking to turn this semi-final in Cargin’s favour.
Just as influential in this sweet win for the champions were ageless brothers Tomas and Mick McCann. Both are deep into their 30s, going on 25.
Mick McCann bossed this semi-final from start to finish and looked the freshest man coming off the Dunsilly pitch, while his younger brother Tomas landed three crucial frees and broke St Brigid’s defensive lines at will.
Sean O’Neill and Jamie Gribbin also put some hard yards in while John Morgan, Shea Downey, Shay Campbell, Joe and Patrick Finnegan couldn’t have given much more to the St Brigid’s effort.
Cargin march on. As Cargin do...
Erin’s Own, Cargin: J McNabb; K O’Boyle, K McShane, R Gribbin; J Crozier, P McCann (1-0), S O’Neill; P Shivers (0-1 free), G McCann, J Laverty, Conhuir Johnston (0-1), J Gribbin (0-1); T Shivers, M McCann, T McCann (0-3, frees) Subs: B Kelly (0-1) for T Shivers (41), D Johnston for J Crozier (50), Conan Johnston for P McCann (56), J Carron for P Shivers (59)
St Brigid’s, Belfast: D Heery; P King, J Finnegan, J Morgan; S Campbell, S Downey, R Boyle; M Cummings, J Dowling; N Duffy, P Finnegan (0-1), J Smith; E Downey (0-5, 0-3 frees), C Downey (0-1), C McNicholl Subs: C Downey for N Duffy (34), C McAleer for J Smith (52), P Bradley for C McNicholl (52), R McErlean for P Bradley (56), C King for P Finnegan (60 +5)
Yellow cards: J Dowling (30), R Boyle (59)
Referee: B Toland