SUNDAY 21 JANUARY
All-Ireland Senior Club final
Watty Graham's, Glen (Derry) v St Brigid's (Roscommon), Croke Park, 3.30pm.
ONLINE
Live blog on RTÉ.ie and the RTÉ News app.
RADIO
Live commentary on RTÉ Radio 1's Sunday Sport and on RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta's Spórt an Lae.
TV
Live coverage on TG4 from 3.10pm.
WEATHER
Becoming wet and windy with heavy rain spreading from the southwest and strong to near gale force and gusty southerly winds developing. Gales developing on some coasts also. Highest temperatures of 11 to 13 degrees. For more go to met.ie.
Glen expect but Brigid's riding high on their own momentum
And so we are down to the final pairing as the month of January again provides the backdrop for the football club decider. It's 11 years since St Brigid's won their only All-Ireland crown. Frankie Dolan kicked over the match-winning point against Ballymun Kickhams as Brigid's recovered from a shaky start to eventually reel in their Dublin opponents in what was a compelling St Patrick's Day clash.
Defeating fancied Corofin in the Connacht final on 3 December laid down an obvious marker that the Roscommon champions were genuine contenders for the big prize. Led by the superb Ben O'Carroll, who ended up with a haul of 1-07, they outplayed their more fancied Galway counterparts and deservedly claimed the Shane McGettigan Cup.
In the All-Ireland semi-final against Cork's Castlehaven, they were in control for the most part, but a fallow period in the second half made things a lot tighter going down the stretch. Again, O'Carroll was on hand to kick a few scores that enabled a four-point cushion come the final whistle.
As for Glen, well it's a consecutive final appearance as they look for a maiden title. A two-point loss to Kilmacud Crokes was their lot on this weekend last year. However, Crokes having '17' players on the pitch as Glen were about to kick a '45 deep into injury time brought us a new twist.
The GAA ordered that the game be replayed following an objection from Glen with regards to the outcome, but Crokes lodged an appeal against that ruling. After 12 days, the Derry side withdrew from the appeals process against the result, saying that they do not believe the conditions exist for a replay.
Crokes were champions. Glen would have to come again.
And come again they did. They regained their county and provincial crowns, though Scotstown were a tough nut to eventually crack in the latter decider.
Next up was the opportunity to exact revenge on Kilmacud Crokes in the semi-final. Páirc Esler in Newry was the venue for what we all hoped would be an early January blockbuster. It certainly was exciting, even though most television viewers and those at the ground found it hard to make out was going on as fog descended on the venue.
The decision to give the game the green light was controversial, but referee Conor Lane was happy that he could see both goalposts from the half-way line and so action went ahead. In the end, Glen prevailed by a point, but were deserved winners, with Crokes only stirring themselves sufficiently in the final 20 minutes of the contest.
The bookies have Glen as favourites to finally get over the line, but the youthful exuberance that Brigid's have in their attacking front line sees them as a major threat. With the weather, more notably the wind, likely to have an impact on the game, score conversion will be key.
Key battles
Plenty for us to mull over here. Emmett Bradley and Conor Glass will be expected to dominate around the middle, with the latter a key driving force in Glen''s charge so far. Shane Cunnane and Eddie Nolan will have to get on a fair bit of ball to stymie Glen's threat here.
Ciaran McFaul is a dynamo for the Ulster champions from number 6. Brigid's will also look to curb the the threat of Ethan Doherty and Danny Tallon in the Derry's side's attack. The Stack brothers, Brian and Ronan, will be tasked with that responsibility.
And while Ben O'Carroll has caught the eye up front for the Kiltoom outfit, Robbie Dolan, Brian Derwin and Bobby Nugent are all able score getters in their own right.
Expert view
Glen's experience, big-game players and dynamic defence is likely to swing the All-Ireland club football final in their favour, according to Austin O'Malley and Kyle Coney.
Former Mayo star O’Malley and Tyrone forward Coney believe the Derry club will edge out the Roscommon champions.
Speaking on 2fm's Game On, O'Malley said: "Probably on the balance of it, you'd fancy Glen. They have a bit more experience, a few more big-game players.
"Having said that I was really impressed with Brigid’s with the first half and how they opened up Castlehaven. Ben O’Carroll is in great form, Bobby Nugent clipped in with a few scores, they are a very athletic team and easy on the eye.
"It’s that I just think Glen are so battle-hardened and found answers all the way this year.
"Brigid’s will cause them problems, but I expect Glen to come through."
Ahead of the All-Ireland senior football club final @MartyM_RTE gets the views from the @WattyGrahamsGAA and @StBrigidsRos
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) January 19, 2024
camps #rtegaa #rtenews pic.twitter.com/9Gd9mzeMzZ
On Glen overcoming the Kilmacud Crokes challenge, Coney added: "It's the second game in a row that the defenders have outscored the forwards. Alex Doherty came on and scored a point, it’s the spread of scorers they get.
"Brigid’s had seven different scorers themselves, but defenders Michael Warnock (0-01), Eunan Mulholland and Cathal Mulholland had superb games for Glen.
"Once Glen turn the ball over in defence, there is nothing else in mind only everyone going forward. It’s turn and on your bike. I think that will cause Brigid’s all kind of problems.
"Glen just might come out the right side of this one."
