No more mistakes

Over a decade of pain and disappointment for Navan O"Mahonys was emphatically eradicated at Pairc Tailteann on Sunday afternoon when they demolished Summerhill to claim their 17th SFC title. So often, finals can be disappointing games and Sunday was another of those occasions, but no blame can be apportioned to O"Mahonys as they were vastly superior to Summerhill and the contest was over long before the final whistle. Defeat was bitterly disappointing for Summerhill, but even more disillusioning for them was their failure to perform on the big stage. Everything about Summerhill suggested they could trouble their more vaunted rivals, but that threat never materialised. Summerhill are an infinitely better team than the one that showed up on Sunday. However, the enormity of the occasion seemed to overwhelm them, nothing went their way and when they needed the breaks they fell O"Mahonys way. Sometimes you have to create your own luck, but O"Mahonys had so much creativity in their side that Summerhill had no answer to the questions they incessantly posed. As has been the case throughout this campaign, the Bray brothers, Stephen and David, caused endless problems. There appears to be a telepathic connection between the two and some of their scores were borne out of awareness of each other"s position. David Bray was a nightmare to shackle and although Adrian Kenny tried he couldn"t contain the outstanding youngster. His pace and ability to get out in front of his man was the cornerstone of a brilliant O"Mahonys performance. The Navan men had match-winners all over the field. Kevin Reilly, Damien Moran and Niall McKeigue dealt comfortably with everything Rory Donnelly and Stephen Kennedy could muster. Mark O"Reilly foraged all over the field to try to have an impact, but he was curtailed. Maurice Kennedy disrupted Mark Ward at midfield, but the O"Mahonys wing-backs and half-forwards swept up the majority of the breaking ball and created chance after chance. The essential difference between the sides was the ability to take scores. While Summerhill laboured at one end to finish off impressive moves which inevitably broke down, O"Mahonys countered and punished them on the break. Stephen Bray pulled the strings throughout the afternoon. Brian Ennis was slack on the 2007 All Star and that allowed the elder of the Bray brothers time and space to be creative and he picked out some magnificent passes to set up scores. In the past, O"Mahonys have been accused of lacking the necessary attitude to cross the finish line, but this year there was no sign of that. On Sunday they were ruthlessly efficient and every one of their players worked diligently. Henry Finnegan was like the Duracell bunny! He covered every blade of grass while Paddy Smyth caused Gary Rispin and later Davy Dalton plenty of problems. It was a thoroughly professional performance from Navan O"Mahonys. The defeats of 2006 and 2007 must have preyed on their minds over the last two weeks, but they went about their business brilliantly and are worthy champions. Summerhill took the lead inside the opening minute when Stephen Kennedy converted a free after Reilly had fouled Paul Larkin, but that was the only time Summerhill had their noses in front. Within four minutes a couple of scintillating moves resulted in excellent scores for Stephen Bray and Barry Regan while Michael Byrne restored parity with a free from a difficult angle, but the signs were ominous when Stephen Bray raced away from Ennis and blazed a goal chance across the face of the goals. Excellent running from Lee Russell allowed O"Mahonys regain the lead and their superiority was further emphasised when a mistake by Byrne allowed Stephen Bray rattle the woodwork and from the rebound David Bray netted to make it 1-3 to 0-2. Another Stephen Kennedy free maintained Summerhill"s hopes, but despite playing into a stiff breeze O"Mahonys always looked the more capable side. Summerhill lacked the necessary bite and appeared more nervous. Another mistake from Byrne gifted possession to Stephen Bray and his pass found Smyth. The captain had the goal at his mercy, but was hauled down by Tony McDonnell and from the resultant penalty Henry Finnegan effectively put the game to bed. When David Bray added a point two minutes later it left Summerhill with a huge mountain to climb and they never looked like overcoming that obstacle. Byrne"s misery was ended when he was replaced by Davy Dalton and that facilitated Paul Rispin"s move into the attack. After another Stephen Kennedy free that move paid dividends when Paul Rispin pointed to close the gap to 0-5 to 2-4. However, Summerhill"s attacks were too infrequent and lacked a finishing touch. A brilliant crossfield ball from Stephen Bray to Finnegan saw O"Mahonys establish a 2-5 to 0-5 interval lead. Summerhill needed a lightning start to the second-half, but O"Mahonys were in no mood to let the game slip from their grasp. Points from David Bray, Stephen Bray and Regan in the opening seven minutes put nine points between the sides and left Summerhill with only pride to play for. Michael Gorman became the second starting defender to point from play for the south Meath side and while Larkin, O"Reilly and Donnelly were thwarted in their efforts to get a goal by excellent goalkeeping from Mark Brennan, Summerhill never looked like seriously challenging. After Gorman"s score O"Mahonys continued to hit Summerhill on the break. Regan, David Bray, Stephen Bray and Finnegan closed the O"Mahonys account and while Conor Gillespie did manage a fortunate point for Summerhill late on it was all over long before the final whistle as O"Mahonys were crowned champions once again. SCORERS Navan O"Mahonys - D Bray 1-3; H Finnegan 1-2, 1-0 penalty; S Bray 0-3, B Regan 0-3; L Russell 0-1. Summerhill - S Kennedy 0-3, three frees; M Byrne 0-1, free; P Rispin 0-1; M Gorman 0-1; C Gillespie 0-1. THE TEAMS Navan O"Mahonys - M Brennan; D Moran, K Reilly, N McKeigue; S O"Toole, C McGuinness, S MacGabhann; B Regan, M Ward; L Russell, S Bray, H Finnegan; D Bray, P Smyth, S Keating. Subs - S McKeigue for Russell 35 mins, G O"Brien for Keating 42m, C Reilly for Moran 53m, S Crosby for Ward 56m, D Murtagh for D Bray 58m. Summerhill - T McDonnell; P Rispin, G Rispin, A Kenny; M Gorman, B Ennis, C Malone; M Kennedy, C Gillespie; M Byrne, M O"Reilly, P Larkin; B Lyons, R Donnelly, S Kennedy. Subs - D Dalton for Byrne 21 mins, W Milner for G Rispin half-time, A Lyons for B Lyons 44m, J Loughrey for Malone 56m. REFEREE Cormac Reilly (St Mary"s).