Glen edge St Brigid's in thriller to win All-Ireland title

Glen won their first All-Ireland Club Football title after coming from behind to beat St Brigid's in a thrilling decider at Croke Park.

In a captivating final that went down to the wire, the Ulster champions scored crucial goals through Jody McDermott and Conor Glass to win by a point despite spending the majority of the game trialling an impressive St Brigid's side.

In an enthralling and nail-biting conclusion, Glen levelled thanks to a wonderful Conor Glass goal and moved two clear before Shane Cunnane cut the deficit to the minimum in the fourth minute of stoppage time.

Cunnane then had the chance to save St Brigid's with a last-gasp free but sent it wide, sparking ecstatic scenes among the Glen supporters before referee Brendan Cawley blew his whistle, completing Glen's stunning rise to the biggest prize in club football having only won their first Derry title in 2021.

It is also redemption of the sweetest kind for the Watty Graham's after an agonisingly and hugely controversial defeat by Kilmacud Crokes in last year's All-Ireland final.

It was far from the perfect performance from Glen. Bettered for large spells, they nevertheless dug deep and pressed to the final whistle in a manner now synonymous with Malachy O'Rourke's side.

The one-point win means the Andy Merrigan Cup will head to the Oak Leaf County for just the fourth time, after one victory apiece for Bellaghy, Lavey and Ballinderry.

Having avenged last year's final defeat by toppling Kilmacud in the semi-final, many viewed Glen as the favourites on their return to Croke Park.

But led by the irrepressible Ben O'Carroll, it was St Brigid's who shone brightest during the majority of the first half, the Roscommon forward scoring 0-3 and giving Michael Warnock a severe test of his man-marking skills.

St Brigid's were also stout at the back with Pearse Frost in particular doing his part to stop Glen from getting quality ball into their forwards.

The Connacht champions got their noses in front early through Brian Stack, and while Emmett Bradley soon knocked over Glen's first two scores, Cathal Mulholland and Ciaran McFaul shots had both gone wide in a frustrating opening quarter for the Derry side.

In contrast, Brigid's looked dangerous every time they flooded forward. Quick in transition and efficient at getting early ball to O'Carroll, they surely went in at the break wondering how they had just the eight points on the board.

While the likes of Eddie Nolan and Ruaidhri Fallon scored beautiful scores from play, Robbie Dolan should have done better when he isolated Tiarnan Flanagan, hitting his shot straight at the Glen forward.

Flanagan's blushes were spared, though, when his horribly miscued pass floated straight into Fallon's arms, with O'Carroll unable to find the back of Connlan Bradley's net after Fallon's excellent surge up the field.

While St Brigid's were four up and appeared to be in the ascendancy, the game changed in a flash with a rapid 1-1 from Glen, McDermott rippling Cormasc Sheehy's net after being teed up by Danny Tallon before Ethan Doherty's score brought the two-in-a-row Ulster champions level before the break.

More to follow.