Gallen's back to back title hopes crushed by Cookstown

The beauty of Gaelic football remains the simplicity of the game. No matter what tactical strategies are put in place, it remains a physical contest between thirty players seeking control of a piece of inflated leather. Last year Gallen Community School travelled to Ballyconnell in Cavan to take on Holy Trinity College of Cookstown and they produced a wonderful display to win that All-Ireland semi-final - and it was down to nothing more than many of their key players simply producing a big performance at a vital time. Last Saturday, the two sides met again at Croke Park and the Offaly students were simply blown away by their opponents who produced a much better performance on the day. It would be easy to analyse different aspects of the match and to ask if things could have worked out differently if players had been positioned alternatively, or if the bounce of the ball had been a little bit different at crucial times, but ultimately when one team plays so much better than the other, there's nothing that can be done, either from the sideline or anywhere else. Gallen CS manager Fran Mulhall spoke afterwards about how those players who are now finished playing with Gallen will look back on their time in the school and reflect on the scale of their achievements on the field of play. But for many there will be a tinge of regret that they failed to step up the intensity at a time when it was badly needed. The first 20 minutes of this game ebbed and flowed and neither side really looked like taking a stronghold. John Loughran was performing very well at centre-forward for Cookstown but equally Aaron McDonagh looked sharp for Gallen, while supporters from the midlands were biding their time waiting for Joe Maher and Eoghan Lowry to start producing the type of scores that powered Gallen's season so far - scores that never came. Instead, the game turned in ten vital minutes before half-time when Cookstown's 0-8 to 0-6 advantage quickly turned into a seven-point interval lead. A fortunate goal from Kieran McGeary that looped inside the far post and under the crossbar was a savage blow, while Declan McClure's point just before half-time was equally disheartening as it was utterly unpreventable from a defensive point of view and came when time really should have been expired. The early stages of the second half were the time when the Gallen players needed to dig deep and build the foundations of a recovery, but sadly there are times when players just aren't at their best and no amount of endeavour or work-rate will produce results. Cameos like Leon Fox's attempt at a quick sideline that went straight to a Holy Trinity player to set up a score, and Brian Grehan's goal attempt which went the wrong side of the post, epitomised the kind of day that too many players were having. Once John Loughran's attempt for a point from 40 yards out deceived Dylan Buckley and dropped under the crossbar and into the net on 45 minutes, any chance of a comeback was well and truly extinguished and it became a matter of keeping the scoreline respectable until Derek O'Mahoney sounded his final whistle. Even this moderate goal proved difficult to attain as Holy Trinity continued to press forward, while Leon Fox's late red card left Gallen with a numerical disadvantage. For these Gallen footballers now, players that carry with them the hopes of so many people in West Offaly, the important next step will be to use the lessons learned in Croke Park to further develop themselves as players and as individuals. Often the hardest trap to avoid for young footballers playing with clubs or counties where success is rare is the temptation to settle for becoming a big fish in a small pond. Holy Trinity, and indeed St Mary's of Edenderry later in the afternoon, set the standard that these young players need to aspire to and while defeat in Croke Park is never a pleasant experience, if Gallen can look on the year as a whole, take confidence from their wins and learn from this defeat, the school and the players will be all the stronger for it. Holy Trinity: Anthony McKenna; Niall McWilliams, Ruairí Mullan, Caolan Coney; Eoin Coyle, Conor McAleer, Michael Cassidy (0-1); Anthony Devlin (0-1), Danny McNulty (0-2); Declan McClure (0-1), John Loughran (1-3), Aidan Armstrong; Kieran McGeary (1-4), James McGahan (0-4, 2f), Daryl McGee. Subs: Matthew Hughes for Coney, Frank Burns (0-1) for McGee, Barry Potter (0-1f) for McClure, Micky Mills for McWilliams, Pearse Warnock for Coyle. Gallen CS: Dylan Buckley; Jack Egan, James Nally, Stephen Wren; Stephen Rourke, Darragh Corbett, Ryan Delaney; Leon Fox (0-1), Ciarán Cahill; Michael Butler, Joe Maher (0-2, 2f), Brian Grehan (0-1); Aaron McDonagh (0-2), Colin Kenny, Eoghan Lowry (0-1f). Subs: Dean Hogan for Butler, Christian Brazil for Delaney, Brian Gilligan for Stephen O'Rourke, Paddy Cosgrove for Colin Kenny, Eoghan Hennessy for Colin Kenny Referee: Derek O'Mahoney (Tipperary)