Played this Sunday morning at mid day in a sunny and mild Athboy pitch this match between traditional rivals was eagerly anticipated.
Would our guys hold their heads,keep their mouths shut ,concentrate on playing the sort of football they are capable of,or would the few bad apples we can have infect the rest of the team with their disruptive behaviour.
I was about five minutes late and scores were hard to come by.The teams were well matched physically and skill wise.Thirteen a side football is an enjoyable experience.I played it myself in my youth and loved it.It requires skill,athleticism and intelligence and gives great scope for creativity.
The biggest sin is stray passing ,closely followed by lack of concentration.
I had heard that there was some doubt about the availability of some of our guys.I didn't see Jamie Leavy nor Shane Gartland who played the last day and don#t know the story with them.' Team Lined out as follows;
Eoin Smith
Alex Walshe Aaron Feeney
Stefan Clarke Conor Dempsey Tomas Conroy
Mark Kane Cianan Mc Kenna
Conor Daly Oisin Martin Jack Brady
Luke Martin Peter Casey.
Oldcastle took an early points lead and our game plan became clear.It was to get the ball speedily to Lukie who is a big guy ,a good man to win possession and well able to score.Oisin Martyn is a perpetual motion machine and an intelligent and unselfish player and has developed physically in recent years.
Alex Walsh is ,despite his small stature ,a brave and creative player and an incisive distributor of the ball.
We got two goals within a minute after 15 minutes due mainly to astute passing and intelligent layoffs from the aforementioned players.
Lukie was hauled down for a peno and Mc Kenna dispatched to the net with panache.Lukie followed up with a well taken goal himself shortly afterwords and I noted that theses scores were match changing events.Then to cap it all Oisin followed on to a botched save by the Oldcastle goalkeeper to finish to the net.All our guys were on song and Oldcastle were clearly rattled and missed a number of easy point chances.
They did steady up somewhat and when the break came we led comfortably by 3-3 to 0-7 and deservedly so.
With little or no breeze we looked more likely to win than lose.
I am not saying that the other players we have ,other than the three I have mentioned ,are bit players.They most certainly are not and all contributed well to our well being in fact,putting it all on the line.
All we had to do was keep the head and the discipline and the mouths shut.
Actually we got only 0-3 in the second half and they got 3-4.Now the referee wasn't great but in fairness to him was the same to each side.And they had some fine players,Chances they were spurning in the first half started to find their range.
Bad habits tolerated by the Club in a small minority of our guys when they were not yet teens resurfaced,encouraged in no small part from uncouth crowd shouting , and infected our responses.
Instead of steadying the ship and consolidating our lead some, but not all of our guys ,resorted to mouth play against theitr teammate's and whoever crossed their paths.
Oldcastle responded by chipping away at our lead and scored a good goal and a softish one to draw level.
With the fat in the fire our response was not what was needed.We lost the initiative entirely and the plot also.
A harmless free for all developed on the far side of the pitch from me.No more than the man in the moon I couldn't see what happened.
The referee sorted it without sending anyone to the line,but Oldcastle continued to hold firm and played with more cohesion and authority.
After the bust up the umpires took a more proactive approach and one of our boys received line after an umpires intervention.
This totally unsettled us entirely and despite one of their guys getting line also they grew in a stature as we faded into our cocoons.
Instead of concentrating on football,as I heard Conor Dempsey urging us to do ,as the end approached ,enough of our guys stopped trying when a more spirited response was needed.
Barry Coffey and Mikie Dowdall came on too late to make a difference.
I was not impresses with the response of some of our guys when the chips were down and consider the lack of ambition of some of our players deplorable.
It is totalally unfair on those who week in and out bust a gut in the Club's interest.
We got some fine scores as follows;-Conroy 0-1.Mc Kenna 1-0.Pen.Kane 0-2 .1 FREE,Oisin 1-0,Lukie 1-2.
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