Warwickshire Senior Football Champions 1989: St. Barnabas
Match Report (archive courtesy of Pat Barry, St. Barnabas)
St. Barnabas value for title win
St. Barnabas 0-11 v 0-08 Sean McDermott’s
St. Barnabas of Nottingham took the Warwickshire Senior Football Championship for the first time when they defeated Sean McDermott’s in the delayed 1989 final at Páirc na hÉireann.
A strong win that blew from the clubhouse end spoiled the game as a spectacle but nothing should detract from the winner’s achievement in keeping their opponents subdued for most of the game. Playing against the wind, McDermott’s got off to a promising start with a point in the sixth minute by Mickey Hanley. Noel O’Callaghan equalised within a minute but Adrian McLean hit back with another point for McDermott’s and Wayne Cooney, who plays soccer with Shamrock Rovers in the League of Ireland, put the 0-03 to 0-01 ahead with a point from a free.
However, in the remaining twenty minutes before the interval McDermott’s failed to score and the lively St. Barnabas took over. McDermott’s were unfortunately that their star midfielder, Noel McMenamin, was carrying a calf injury and was unable to produce his brilliant best.
O’Callaghan pointed a free for St. Barnabas in the eleventh minute and, having missed another straight in front of the goal, he then added two more points from placed balls. Denis Moran tacked on another point for St. Barnabas to give them an interval lead of 0-05 to 0-03.
St. Barnabas maintained the pressure against the wind in the second-half and another Moran point was followed by two more by Brian McDonald and one by Pat Costello. They now led by 0-09 to 0-03 and McDermott’s were in serious trouble but Cooney pointed frees in the eighth and ninth minutes to reduce the deficit. However, O’Callaghan and Pat Kennedy replied with points to leave St. Barnabas leading by six points once more.
McDermott’s reserved their best football for the final quarter. They stormed their opponents’ defence but paid the penalty for trying too often for goals and they also show seven wides. However, a point by McLean was followed by a pair from frees by Cooney in the closing minutes but they could not elude the St. Barnabas defence for the goal they so badly needed.
Best for the winners were left full-back Martin Flynn, Martin Geraghty, who captained the team, left half-back Paddy Keane, forwards O’Callaghan and Costello, centre-back Mattie Bane and sixteen-year-old goalkeeper Brendan Friel. The losers had fine players in goalkeeper Frank Quinn, McMenamin, Pat Power and Paul McGrath.
