Long
wait is finally over! - 11/10/2003
Down
Centenary Senior Football Championship Final - Bryansford 1-08 Mayobridge 0-09
Photos
from County Final 2003 29/09/2003
Taken
from the Mourne Observer
IT HAS been a long wait but at St. Patrick's
Park on Sunday, Benny Corrigan and his young Bryansford team realised a 26-year
dream as they dethroned Mayobridge as County Football Champions.
Benny
was a key figure in the victorious 1977 Championship winning side and knows better
than anyone what Sunday's 1-8 to 0-9 victory means to Bryansford supporters.
In truth, Bryansford could and should have won by a greater margin as goalscorer
Conor Gribben watched his 15-yard thunderbolt crash back off the bar and captain
Brian Burns was unable to convert the rebound.
Despite the wind and rain,
a crowd of over 3,000 turned out to cheer on both teams, but it was the euphoric
Bryansford supporters who stormed the pitch at 5.30pm to celebrate a landmark
victory.
Orchestrating proceedings from the sideline, Benny was the catalyst
for the two-point victory as Bryansford's shutting-down tactics reaped rich rewards.
"Every one of our players was absolutely fantastic out there," beamed
Benny. "Words really can't describe what this means to me and to everybody associated
with this club. I had a few restless nights in the last week but I was always
confident that we could win.
"Mayobridge are such a good team that we
had to stick to our game plan, and we did that brilliantly. The conditions didn't
help and it wasn't a good game of football for neutrals, but we won and that's
what matters."
Mayobridge arrived at St. Patrick's Park as hot favourites
and rightly so. Since the turn of the century they have been the dominant force
in Down football but on Sunday they were quite simply outplayed and outfought.
Their deadly attack was neutralised by a strong, disciplined Bryansford
defence while the 'Ford midfielders were left gasping for air at the final whistle
as they contested and won almost every breaking ball.
The pace and power
of 'Ford forwards Colm Kearney, Conor Gribben, Gerard McCrickard, Shane King and
Chris Brannigan caused the 'Bridge defence all sorts of problems, particularly
in the second half.
Man-of-the-match Gee Morgan, pitched against 'Bridge
talisman Benny Coulter, inspired from the first whistle. Up against one of the
best forwards in Ireland, he was always on top and restricted Coulter to just
one point.
With just five minutes on the clock he produced a superb double
block on first Coulter, then Michael Walsh that served as a rallying call to his
teammates. Speaking after the match and still swamped by jubilant fans, Gee told
the Mourne Observer that it was fate that decreed Bryansford's success.
"I knew we would win," he explained. "I don't know why but I think we all felt
that this was our year and today we have just gone out there and showed what we're
all about.
"We didn't give them a minute. Obviously it's great to be
named man of the match but this was about everybody who has played in this year's
Championship. "Look at the fans - it's all over their faces what this means to
them. It's just an unbelievable feeling."
Bryansford captain Brian Burns
drove the side on from midfield and revealed his delight at what he called "a
dream come true." He said: "It is a fantastic honour to be Bryansford captain
on this day. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the management team
and the players for the effort they have put in to make this happen.
"It wasn't pretty, but we out-thought Mayobridge who came and played football
like we knew they would and they deserve credit for the sporting manner in which
they competed.
"We showed what this Championship means to us by going
out there and giving it everything we had. Hopefully now we can go on and do Down
proud in the Ulster Championships."
Photos
from County Final 2003 29/09/2003
