Éire Óg Greystones
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Weekly Notes - 11th May 2005

Congratulations to our u-14 footballers who won the Féile on Monday in Baltinglass. By all accounts their display in the final was superb. Ár ngraidhin sibh, a bhuachaillí!

The Intermediate League campaign which started in a blaze of glory seemed, with two back to back spiritless surrenders to Valleymount and Kilcoole, destined to end in a dismal failure. Thankfully the downhill spiral was arrested in Blessington on Sunday when Éire Óg recorded a one goal victory over the locals in a game which hung in the balance for most of the 60 minutes. Two goals, the first well taken by Anto Byrne after a quick catch and turn, the second of the scrambled variety was finished to the net by Jamie McDonnell, laid the foundations for this win. Thereafter their slow addition to this total as Blessington ratcheted up their scores had Éire Óg followers in a worried state for all of the 2nd half. The game itself which was devoid of rancour may be a candidate for the Guinness Book of Records as Blessington were awarded at least 13 frees (granted one was a kick-out) on the trot. Not being a person to show prejudice, it will be left to the observers to judge whether this was due to Éire Óg’s indiscipline or to the vagaries of the refereeing. The conditions were against good football but nevertheless the players served up a contest which was at all times interesting and, on occasion, sparkling. Paul Doherty gave a sound and, for the most part, disciplined display at centre-back. Anto Byrne at full-forward gave some menace to a forward unit which lacked punch. Craig Smullen’s display at No 5 showed a maturity which belied his years. Paul Pegman never put a foot wrong and Cormac Ó Súilleabháin showed snatches of his old form but his accuracy was a little lacking. Ray Barry mollified criticism by observing that with our slight advantage at mid-field, a wide was better than giving away possession.

Éire Óg ladies’ last two matches versus Kilcoole and Clara were proof positive that the ladies’ version of Gaelic football cedes nothing to its male counterpart in the ability to raise hackles, evoke passion and to send sporting pulses racing. Ask any of the spectators present at these encounters. Their body language – as indeed their verbal utterings – spoke eloquently of a gamut of emotions from anxiety to elation. Strangely at half-time in each game Éire Óg held what appeared to be a comfortable lead but in both, this proved to be flattery carrying in it the seeds of deceit – we lost to Clara by a point and drew with Kilcoole. The turnabout in the scoring patterns might suggest "games of two halves" – an inference far from the truth. For both games were evenly contested throughout and scoring differences had their basis in the capitalising on opportunities.

The fall of the "lug ar an lag" in the Clara game – the expulsion of the wind from the Éire Óg sails! – occurred late in the second half when the opposition was awarded a penalty in circumstances which had our ladies in head-shaking disbelief. The subsequent goal gave Clara the lead for the first time and which they never subsequently lost. Luka Hargan had a stormer at corner back and Ruth McElroy’s goal-keeping could not be faulted. Lorna Fusciardi gave her usual effective perpetual-motion display at centre-field and Jade Coffey’s back play was soundness itself.

As one might expect from a local derby, the match against Kilcoole was played with a nerve-jangling intensity and the consensus was that a draw was the deserved outcome. With the early departure of Lorna Fusciardi through injury, the duty of marking inter-county star Eithne Byrne fell to Jenny Groome, a task in which she proved to be highly competent. Laura Mitchell, Marguerite Wardick, Ciara O’Reilly, Caoilfhionn Deeney, Kelley Ryder and Laurie Aherne, who scored a wonder goal, were major contributors to Éire Óg’s cause.