Brady brace secures Mayo crown for dogged Ballina
Ballina 3-6 Charlestown 0-13
Liam Higgins, the Ballina Stephenites manager, celebrates at the final whistle at McHale Park in Castlebar yesterday.
Monday October 01 2007
David Brady's conversion to a ball-winning, goal-scoring full-forward may not have John O'Mahony redrawing his blueprint for 2008 but it was enough to steer the Paddy Moclair Cup back to Ballina for the fourth time in 10 years at McHale Park in Castlebar.
Brady grabbed two goals in the semi-final to make all the difference against favourites Ballaghadereen and turned the screw on Charlestown in the second half of the Mayo SFC final with another goal and two assists in a decisive eight minute spell just after half-time.
Brady's time as an inter-county midfielder may be up at 32, but his experience and courage were invaluable on the edge of the square as Ballina, under pressure in the first half, turned this final around.
Charlestown had impressively built up a 0-7 to 0-4 lead by the break and were working the ball forward intelligently and with greater movement and accuracy.
Many of their seven first-half points came courtesy of well constructed moves and there was little evidence to suggest in that period that Ballina could stay the pace as Dermot and Aidan Higgins, David Tiernan, Richard Haran and Tony Mulligan dominated.
They led by 0-7 to 0-2 after 26 minutes but with Brady settling at full-forward and grabbing a point from an Eanna Casey delivery and his brother Ger kicking two on the run it gave them a foothold.
Paul McGarry and Dermot Higgins traded points just after the break before Brady plucked a McGarry centre from the skies and was fouled but quickly threaded a pass through to the impressive Ger Brady who despatched impressively past goalkeeper John Casey on 36 minutes.
Five minutes later, the eldest Brady chased a poorly struck point attempt from his other brother Liam and got a glancing touch to beat Casey and establish control, 2-5 to 0-8, for the first time.
Haran stemmed the tide briefly but by then Ballina had found the groove and when Charlestown full-back Sean Lenehan spilled possession Brady swooped and combined with Liam Brady to set up Stephen Hughes for a third goal.
Rocked
Charlestown were rocked but managed to gain control again and pushed forward with Dermot Higgins and Tiernan most prominent.
But Ballina drew on all their experience to protect their lead and with Ronan McGarrity and Pat Harte lifting their game impressively for the last quarter they repelled all advances.
Brady was declining the platitudes headed in his direction afterwards and deflecting them instead to colleague Ronan McGarrity as a measure of perspective.
McGarrity was diagnosed with testicular cancer earlier in the year but has overcome it and yesterday was his reward, his day, in Brady's eyes.
"You can play football all you want but what Ronan McGarrity went through this year, that's why Ballina won a county title. Football isn't as big as anyone thinks. He had a battle there this year and he went on and did his own thing and to come back and win a county title and be so good in a semi-final and the final. That's what it's about.
"It's not about getting a hand to a goal, it's about Ronan McGarrity and what he did."
McGarrity got little sympathy from Charlestown, however, and was the victim of a sequence of heavy challenges from Charlestown players in the first half.
Scorers -- Ballina Stephenites: G Brady 1-3, D Brady 1-1, S Hughes 1-0, P McGarry 0-2.
Charlestown: P Mulligan 0-5 (5f), R Haran 0-2, D Tiernan, D Higgins, T Parsons, T Mulligan, O Conway, M Mulvaney all 0-1 each.
Charlestown -- J Casey; E Casey, S Lenehan, D Caffrey; K Deignan, A Higgins, D Higgins; D Tiernan, T Parsons; R Haran, M Caffrey, M Mulvaney; O Conway, T Mulligan, P Mulligan. Subs: M Divilly for Tiernan (27), Tiernan for Caffrey (ht), Caffrey for Conway (52), Ray Lenehan for Caffrey (59), B Quinn for Divilly (60).
Ballina -- D Clarke; K Golden, M Wynne, E Devenney; B Ruane, C Leonard, D Mahoney; R McGarrity, D Brady; E Casey, P Harte, G Brady; S Hughes, P McGarry, L Brady. Subs: A Tighe for Casey (51), A Kelly for Hughes (54), B O'Hora for McGarry (56).
Ref -- Martin Murphy (Ballinrobe)
