Kilcock 2-7

THERE are times when the gods conspire in your favour and others when they pit their wits against you. So it was at rain and wind swept Newbridge on Sunday.

It would be simplistic, and indeed less than fair to the new champions to say that the SFC final was decided on the toss of a coin. However, even the most ardent Moorefield supporter will admit that it had a lot to do with it.

When skipper Martin Ryan called correctly he put his side in to play with the wind at their backs into the town end and boy did they make use of it.

There is an old saying in sport that you make your own luck and that’s just what Moorefield did with a powerful first display which literally blew Kilcock out of the water and left the new champions virtually home and hosed on a 2-10 to 0-1 half time scoreline.

They laid the foundations with two first half goals by Cian O’Neill and Brian McGrogan in the fourth and 20th minutes respectively.

O’Neill hit the back of the net when he used his height and strength to beat two defenders to a high delivery from namesake Kevin, turn and plant the ball in the net. McGrogan’s goal literally killed the game as a contest as he drifted inside his marker to take a Pa Behan pass and slot home a clever low shot. In the remaining minutes of the half the rampant Moores played it exactly as it should be played. The ball was let in quickly with the assistance of the elements and an alert forward line did the rest. In the semi final we applauded Kilcock’s first half total against Clane but the Moores surpassed it with a goal to spare.

They were quickly into their stride when Pa Behan opened their account in the third minute. A minute later O’Neill struck for the first goal and two minutes later both Michael Ryan and Kenny Duane had slotted over the bar.

The blitz continued with sharpshooter Patrick Murray getting in on the act to raise three white flags, two of them from frees and open a nine-point gap after a quarter of an hour. Murray kept it going with another free before ‘Moggie’ administered what was effectively the ‘coup de grace’ with his surgical strike.

From there to the break the new champions played exhibition stuff really, with the deadly Murray taping over another free, midfielder Seanie White getting in on the act and the ubiquitous ‘Sos’ wrapping it up en route to a man of the match performance. A minute from the break Cathal Sheridan converted an angled free to break the losers’ ‘duck’, the first time in memory that a team led by fifteen points at the break in asenior final, given that the teams were regarded as fairly evenly matched at the outset.

Quite simply Moorefield won the Millennium title with that magnificent half-hour’s football. As one of their mentors remarked in the aftermath it was text book stuff.

On resumption the North Kildare side introduced former Donegal star Brian Murray in an attempt to shore up an ailing midfield. The move flattered to deceive when Ger McNally knocked over a first minute point. However the winners served notice of intent when Seanie White slipped through a gap as wide as the stern of the ‘Titanic’ to wring a smart save from Kilcock keeper Niall Geoghegan.

Patrick Murray stretched the winners’ lead in the ninth and two minutes later Kilcock were thrown a lifeline. A huge delivery from Cathal Sheridan was caught by the breeze and ended up in the roof of the net despite the despairing efforts of Moorefield keeper Padraig Canavan.Perhaps the gap was too large but that fortuitous goal failed to energise Kilcock. Nine scoreless minutes ensued as the winners with ‘Sos’ magnificent in a sweeping role between the half and full back lines quite simply battened down the hatches.

By the time sub Martin Murray fired over the bar with ten minutes to go the game was dead and buried. In fairness to the losers they got the next three scores a point apiece from Cathal Sheridan and arguably their best player John Quinn, as well as a goal from a penalty. Sheridan slotted home the ‘spot kick’ six minutes from time and added another point, as did forty yards man Philip Rowland. It was all of academic interest now with Patrick Murray having the last say with yet another Moorefield free and Rowland wrapping up the Kilcock case with an elegant ‘45’. Just before the end Padraig Canavan redeemed himself with a tremendous one handed save from Eoin Flanagan.

That save merely ensured that justice was seen to be done as a three - point winning margin would have done scant justice to the Moores’ superiority. If they celebrate wisely and not too well there’s no reason to doubt the winners’ ability to make an impression in the club championship where they meet the winners of Rathnew and Dunshaughlin. This win will have given their confidence a huge boost, ending it does a 38-year famine.

They will regale their children with tales of ‘Sos’. The great man was quite magnificent, especially in the second period. In skipper Martin Ryan the rock solid Kevin O’Neill and the admirable Noel Buckley he had able lieutenants. Ronan Sweeney and Seanie White won midfield hands down with Patrick Murray, Cian O’Neill, Brian McGrogan and Michael Ryan to the fore in attack. For a hapless Kilcock who are not as bad they seemed on the day, John Quinn was an inspirational figure at the back. Ger Kiely had a few memorable moments with Cathal Sheridan and Phillip Rowland working hard in attack.

Mick Monahan was an impartial and virtually ‘invisible’ referee.