Connacht Senior club championship 2011

[spectator]

Like Tourlestrane in the semi (also against Brigids), Corofin came out with all guns blazing in the first half and imo drained their tanks more than they should have with the second half to come. They got lots of men behind the ball in defence & attacked with a quicksilver Hussein Bolt type speed that had Brigids floundering at times. They had obviously studied the video of the Brigids v Tourlestarane game closely. Brigids gameplan played into their hands in the first half though. Instead of going fast and direct, Brigids dilly-dallied around the middle third giving the Corofin cavalry time to arrive and flood the sector, swarming the man with the ball. Then when the Brigids midfield lost competitiveness towards the end of the first half, Corofin took a strong hold on possession and pressed home their advantage with late points. They really should have been 6 - 7 points more ahead at that stage, some bad wides and of course the contentious dis-allowed goal cost them big time.

The ref seemed to take the approach that he wasn't going to let any messing develop from the start, imo. There's history between these two sides & when Corofin started with some tough tackling from the off, he took action early. Corofin looked to me like a team who had decided beforehand that this was a way to get at Brigids and put them off their more natural footballing game, and with Brigids on occasion retaliating, it inevitably descended into a card fest. While Corofin have some reasons to be sore I don't think the reffing was as biased as some here are trying to make out, tbh. Definitely some of the frees given were baffling and \ or soft, but having said that they went for and against both teams over the course of the game. As such, there's no justification for saying the ref went out to be a 'homer' or biased towards Brigids imho. Corofin's early tough tackling approach might have contributed towards setting the tone for his handling of the game though, i reckon.

When the game was there to be won, Brigids got stuck in and had more in the tank for the second half than Corofin, outscoring the Galway champions by 0.7 - 0.3 over the final half hour. Hard Luck to Corofin, it's never easy to lose a close final like that, especially with some contentious calls going against you. Congrats to Brigids, they showed fantastic grit and courage to dig out that second half performance after getting the run-around at times during the first half.

Whatever about the rights and wrongs of the ref's decisions, nothing can justify the treatment he was subjected to at the final whistle lads.

[Syferus]

Like Tourlestrane in the semi (also against Brigids), Corofin came out with all guns blazing in the first half and imo drained their tanks more than they should have with the second half to come. They got lots of men behind the ball in defence & attacked with a quicksilver Hussein Bolt type speed that had Brigids floundering at times. They had obviously studied the video of the Brigids v Tourlestarane game closely. Brigids gameplan played into their hands in the first half though. Instead of going fast and direct, Brigids dilly-dallied around the middle third giving the Corofin cavalry time to arrive and flood the sector, swarming the man with the ball. Then when the Brigids midfield lost competitiveness towards the end of the first half, Corofin took a strong hold on possession and pressed home their advantage with late points. They really should have been 6 - 7 points more ahead at that stage, some bad wides and of course the contentious dis-allowed goal cost them big time.

The ref seemed to take the approach that he wasn't going to let any messing develop from the start, imo. There's history between these two sides & when Corofin started with some tough tackling from the off, he took action early. Corofin looked to me like a team who had decided beforehand that this was a way to get at Brigids and put them off their more natural footballing game, and with Brigids on occasion retaliating, it inevitably descended into a card fest. While Corofin have some reasons to be sore I don't think the reffing was as biased as some here are trying to make out, tbh. Definitely some of the frees given were baffling and \ or soft, but having said that they went for and against both teams over the course of the game. As such, there's no justification for saying the ref went out to be a 'homer' or biased towards Brigids imho. Corofin's early tough tackling approach might have contributed towards setting the tone for his handling of the game though, i reckon.

When the game was there to be won, Brigids got stuck in and had more in the tank for the second half than Corofin, outscoring the Galway champions by 0.7 - 0.3 over the final half hour. Hard Luck to Corofin, it's never easy to lose a close final like that, especially with some contentious calls going against you. Congrats to Brigids, they showed fantastic grit and courage to dig out that second half performance after getting the run-around at times during the first half.

Whatever about the rights and wrongs of the ref's decisions, nothing can justify the treatment he was subjected to at the final whistle lads.

About right. The referee had a real impact, no doubt, but in the second half Brigids started playing and the Corofin backs had no answers. Senan soloing the ball with two Corofin players hanging off him and finishing it up with a point was beautiful. Likewise was Frankie's 45 from the edge and his winning point was one that can rest easily beside those famous sideline cuts for Roscommon in 2003.

The most bizarre thing for me on the day was that Brigids remain muddled in how they play in attack, half the time they'll drag Senan out to take frees that by any right sense should be took by frankie and aimed at him. Before Frankie's 45 there was an easier free closer to the middle of the 45 that Senan took. If Brigids just play route one to Senan with Frankie taking almost all the frees then they will beat anyone, even Crossmaglen, a team I believe Brigids would have beat last season if they'd utilized Senan more efficiently.

Well done to Brigids and Corofin, even despite the referee it was a match with plenty of passion and skill.

[GalwayBayBoy]

Some of the Rossies here would want to have watched the match with their other eye open as well. If the shoe was on the other foot they would be going tonto.

Having said that I hope Brigid's manage to go all the way now. Not their fault that the ref was out of his tree.

[ross matt]

Well done to Brigids. The better footballing side. However from talking to brigids supporters who were there it was clear the ref was'nt up to it and his bad decisions cost Corofin more than the Kiltoom side. Overall though Corofin are a dour physical side who are not reflective of Galway football. I watched some of it on TV and saw Damien Burke put in a tackle with the boot today that he got sent off for in the Galway championship this year. Clearly the ref was overly concerned about things boiling over.

The venue had nothing to do with it. Bridgets a lost a connacht final to salthill in pearse stadium which is right next door to their home pitch the prairie. I can perfectly understand Kieran Fitzgeralds frustration but the ref didnt deserve what happened after the match.

[ross matt]

Some of the Rossies here would want to have watched the match with their other eye open as well. If the shoe was on the other foot they would be going tonto.

If the shoe was on the other foot and a bunch of rossies did what some of the corofin supporters did to the ref after the match you'd be the first one taking the high morale ground. I'm amazed you were'nt abused from the tv by the random Rossie supporter that you always meet when a Galway side loses to a Roscommon one. Dont choke in on the sour grapes tonight.

[yellowcard]

I have no allegiance to either side or county but any fair minded individual would say that Corofin were given a very raw deal by an incompetent and over fussy referee today. It was an enthralling contest wnonetheless Without having brilliant football. Kilbrides point in the second half was some effort under serious pressure.

Referees have such a bearing on games at this time of year especially though as scores from play are hard enough to come by and the games are invariably tight affairs. Corofin deserved at least a draw from todays game.

[Syferus]

Some of the Rossies here would want to have watched the match with their other eye open as well. If the shoe was on the other foot they would be going tonto.

Not really. Brigids were by far the better team for the entirety of the second half, and that had alot less to do with the referee than alot of people would have you believe. Corofin had a huge, huge call go against them in the first half, but in almost all the incidents there was something that the referee could interpret as a foul, I'd have preferred a more open game but that wasn't what the referee was allowing and if one team adapts to a referee's nuances better than another that's simply smart play, not robbery.

If the shoe was on the other foot I'd be hugely disappointed but I'd be able to accept it and leave it at that and wish the other team every success. Brigids represent the whole of Connacht now.

[Jinxy]

Lads are there two Marty Duffys?
Only saw a snippet at the end of the news but it wasn't the Marty Duffy (who we all know and love).

[GalwayBayBoy]

Lads are there two Marty Duffys?
Only saw a snippet at the end of the news but it wasn't the Marty Duffy (who we all know and love).

No it was Liam Devanney. Somebody thought it was Duffy earlier and it kinda grew legs by itself.

[ross4life]

Yeah Mayo Ref Liam Devanney he did a few Intermediate,Junior games & got some good reviews but clearly couldn't handle the pressure of Connacht senior final, how many yellow cards did he give out today about 13? i can't remember many bad fouls.

[Jinxy]

Lads are there two Marty Duffys?
Only saw a snippet at the end of the news but it wasn't the Marty Duffy (who we all know and love).

No it was Liam Devanney. Somebody thought it was Duffy earlier and it kinda grew legs by itself.

So lads that didn't even see the game are giving out about a ref that didn't even ref the game.

[Syferus]

Yeah Mayo Ref Liam Devanney he did a few Intermediate,Junior games & got some good reviews but clearly couldn't handle the pressure of Connacht senior final, how many yellow cards did he give out today about 13? i can't remember many bad fouls.

To be honest, there was a real edge in the game so a good portion of the yellows were warranted (he gave 15 iirc), but he obviously went too far with them.

[Jinxy]

If you have to give out more than 10 yellows, it means you should have sent someone off already.

[ross4life]

Yeah Mayo Ref Liam Devanney he did a few Intermediate,Junior games & got some good reviews but clearly couldn't handle the pressure of Connacht senior final, how many yellow cards did he give out today about 13? i can't remember many bad fouls.

To be honest, there was a real edge in the game so a good portion of the yellows were warranted (he gave 15 iirc), but he obviously went too far with them.

Indeed a few where warranted but the way he dished out yellow cards i was surprised no one got sent off.

[GalwayBayBoy]

Not sure if reliable but someone posted elsewhere that the foul count was 32-15.