Butlersbridge goals tear Swad's hopes apart

Butlersbridge possess the happy knack of knowing exactly how to win county finals and they proved it by picking up their third Junior Football Championship crown in 11 seasons last Sunday afternoon with a stunning display of precise score-taking, organised defending and clever forward play. Goals, as the cliché goes, win championship games and the Bridge's success here is proof; they scored just once more than their opponents and created a similar number of chances, but their priceless ability to find the net at crucial stages proved the difference. Star of the show was corner-forward Senin Flanagan, who scored 1-4 (1-3 from play) in a super performance. His goal in the 26th minute was a thing of beauty, a magical finish to the top corner of the Swad net, and came in the middle of a sensational seven minute spell during which the Bridge would found the net three times just before the break. Ironically, Swanlinbar, who entered the match missing a number of key players including John Cunningham and Gearoid McKiernan, had begun the contest looking the stronger of the sides. Flanagan had edged the Bridge into the lead when he pulled on a loose ball in the opening minute but Swanlinbar were level two minutes later through a Robbie Prior free. Flanagan intercepted a long ball and sent over his second in the seventh minute but Swad soon began to dominate, with Michael Cunningham outstanding. The former Cavan panellist set up brother Mark for a sweet point to make it 0-2 apiece ten minutes in and created the next for Michael Curran with a sublime 40-metre pass. Curran added a second, a super score under pressure, in the 13th minute to make it 4-2 and although Noel McPhilips replied with a good score for Butlersbridge, Michael Curran kicked his third from long range to open up a two-point gap by the quarter-hour mark as Swad threatened to over-run a nervous-looking Bridge. Slowly, however, Butlersbridge began to assert themselves, with key man Lorcan Mulvey - who had been quiet early on - coming into the match well at midfield. Swanlinbar lost goalkeeper Gerry Scollan to a freak injury at this point, with the match held up for almost five minutes as he received treatment and the Bridge heaped further misery on the west Cavan men in the 26th minute when captain Mickey Fitzpatrick started and finished a quick move by driving a rebound to the Swad net to move into a 1-3 to 0-5 lead. Swanlinbar hit back with a neat left-footed point by Mark Cunningham and a free by Robbie Prior but the Bridge were to rock their opponents with two more goals in first half injury time, First came Flanagan's dead-eyed strike, which nestled in the top right hand corner of the net after a quick pass from John Shannon. Two minutes later, Flanagan won possession on the sideline and linked with Paul Murphy, who in turn set up Mulvey who fed Martin Fitzpatrick close to goal, and the corner-forward made no mistake from close range to make it 3-3 to 0-7 to turn the match completely on its head. Down by five, having played probably the better football in the opening half, Swanlinbar faced an uphill battle and Phelim Plunkett's Bridge re-emerged determined to consolidate in the third quarter. This they did superbly well. Butlersbridge slowed the match down and were committed to the tackle and with Mulvey winning his fair share, they cut off a large amount of the supply to the Swad forward line. A free from Flanagan made it 3-4 to 0-7 after ten scoreless minutes as Swanlinbar's intensity appeared to wane. They missed two scoreable frees before Robbie Prior tapped one over and then Chris Curran set up Mark Cunningham, who threw off a defender with a dummy and curled over a great score to bring it back to a four-point game. A brilliant score from Flanagan from the left-wing, after a pass from Noel McPhilips, restored Butlersbridge's five-point advantage as the match entered the all-important final ten minutes, the home stretch on which the majority of finals are won. Spurred on by a large support, it was the Bridge who looked hungriest to lift the Sean Leddy Cup. A fine point from Martin Fitzpatrick, via the crossbar, and another on the run by Mulvey opened a seven-point gap with eight minutes to play and the lead was extended to nine seconds later when Flanagan set up younger brother Fergal for a point from 14 metres. Robbie Prior responded with a free for Swad and a left-footed effort from play but the Bridge defended resolutely under pressure and coughed up little in the way of clear-cut chances in front of their goal. The coup de grace arrived in injury time when sub Carlos Conlon squared the ball for McPhilips, who tapped home his side's fourth goal to round off a tremendous performance, a fitting end to an excellent campaign for a gutsy and talented Butlersbridge squad. Butlersbridge: Keith Gumley, Stephen O'Hara, Mark Shannon, Kieran Greenan, Andrew McConnell, Padraig McGearty, Brian Greenan, Lorcan Mulvey (0-1), Killian Shannon, Paul Murphy, Michael Fitzpatrick (1-0), John Shannon, Senin Flanagan (1-4, 1f), Noel McPhilips (1-1), Martin Fitzpatrick (1-1) SUBS: Fergal Flanagan (0-1), Eamon Diver, Karlos Conlon, Patrick Flynn, Paul Flynn Swanlinbar: Gerry Scollan, Paul Prior, Adrian McGoldrick, Thomas O'Brien, Damien Leydon, Paul Brennan, Seamus Corrigan, Michael Curran (0-2), Michael Cunningham (0-2), Rory McBarron, Padraig McManus, Robbie Prior (0-5, 4f), Paul McGovern, Mark Cunningham (0-2), Christopher Curran SUBS: Donal McGovern, Padraig Leydon, Gearoid McKiernan Ref: Mickey Lee (Drumalee)