Played 2.30 away.Pitch perfect and weather likewise.
About 30 turned up for us.
Team. Jennings
Callaghan D. Kelleher Mc Cormack
Stephens.E. Harte S. O Shea
Doherty.R. Garry T.J.
Carty Coogan A. Kenneally J.P.(a,k.a Pope )
Clarke Newman A. Coogan .S.
For the first 10 minutes they owned the ball but only led by 2 points to nil.A five minute passage of play ensued during which a number of scoring chances were spurned by both sides with intended passes from both sides going astray and scorable frees being missed.Backs from both sides were mopping up the stray passes with their (5) Byrne and 12 being very industrious and Stephens and Mc Cormack tackling with gusto.Following a free on Stephens Garry hit to Newman who scored a minor.We are well there despite being outplayed.What counts is what is on the scoreboard.Garry is substituted ,seems he has broken his nose ,and Callaghan Keith is introduced as a blood sub.The man who didn't loan the axe tells me that Swiss is deployed to midfield,Keith goes full forward and Aaron to the half forwards.Sheridan ends a period of aimless play,littered with poor passes from both sides,by pointing from a free on the fourteen near the sideline.Bad passing gifts them a minor from play.Both sets of backs are mopping up the plenitude of stray passes emanating from both teams.From a foul on Stephens the ball is worked to Newman who hits wide.Harmless play ensues from the two sides.Garry back on.Fairhill hits over a free earned by Davy Mac.Andy hits wide from play.Finn to Swiss to Stephen.Fouled.Free falls short and the Furze counterattack results in a fisted point.Macken is growing in influence as is Sheridan and they work a point from play.Half time .down 0-6 to 0-2.A fair reflection ,but we are still game.
Disrupt start of second half because caught crossing the pitch.Reason being that grandson Padraig drops crisps from bag and insists on picking each sliver up ,a true child of the recession.
They take a point from play on the restart.Furze 12 is causing problems as is Macken but we man the breaches well enough.Alan Garry on for O Shea and we concede a free which is converted.Simon Carty is at the end of a fluid move and scores a minor.Just about there still and still fighting.Period of trench warfare ,without either side advancing,ensues ,and Andy takes point from play.8 to 5 now.Are we good enough?Sheridan asserts authority by scoring a 40 yard free.Macken is growing in influence and is about three seconds ahead of other players in reading the game.Banty could do worse.Good passing move by us works ball to Stephen who takes nuclear option but misses target.Coogan amends by taking a point from play.Furze miss scorable free following a foul on Macken.Ruddy is opening shoulders.Pope is barely wide from play.Defiant to the end we concede a free,which is taken quickly and is dispatched in a manner the Wenger would appreciate to the onion bag by The foxy Macken.
We resist the end but they add another 2 point to end 1-11 to 0-6 winners.Keith replaced the Pope but no ball came his way.
The Furze deserved their victory.They were less rusty and more experienced than us.To our credit we never gave up and the more grizzled players on our team performed well.Maybe the younger lads were overcome by the level of competition ,but this is the level we must meet to advance.
The mentors will have learned a lot and have much to think about .They have the nous to weld this panel into a more formidable outfit than showed today.
On another day later in the year I would fancy us.
I picked out their Byrne (5),Ruddy, 12, Macken and Sheridan.James Byrne is my nephew and his brother David was injured on the sideline.Two fine gosons.
Met Mickey Collins,who was hard and fair and against whom I exchanged pleasantries in our day and was glad to see his son Andy coming on,after serious injury.I am told he is a chip off the old block.
Gerry Mc Giveney did a master class in refereeing as clean and as competitive a game as you could wish.
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