Éire Óg Greystones
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Weekly Notes - 30th August 2006

From the outset it was a game of nip and tuck which saw Valleymount, having played with the strong wind, leading at the break by the minimum margin. At this stage the Éire Óg camp dared to hope. But Valleymount scored a point from the throw-in and shortly afterwards added a goal. Five points down, clouds of despair were gathering over the Éire Óg supporters. A long delivery to the Valleymount goal area, the ball passing indecisively for a few heart-stopping seconds between backs and forwards. Declan O'Mahoney takes control and steers the ball to the back of the net. The clouds begin to lift, optimism is restored and Éire Óg are on a roll. Four unanswered points later, we are two points in the lead. Patsy Vickers beside me is stressing the importance of another point - it comes through the fist of Declan Hogan. God is in his heaven and all is well with the world. Unfortunately this feeling of well-being is short lived, Valleymount soon again are only a point behind. A minute and a half on the clock. Will we hold out? A ball into the Éire Óg half-back line, two players contest for it. Nothing untoward that one can observe. The whistle inexplicably blows. A free 20 yards out in front of goal. The rest is history. Ochón, Ochón!

The result apart, this was a very entertaining match particularly for those who like to live on the edge. There was some wonderful fielding - is there "a sight so touching" as that of a player soaring in a gravity defying leap from a contending group to take "it (the ball) down with snow on it" - particularly from James Leonard; to give them their due some of the Valleymount players were no daws in this area either. The modern game is a running game and there would be difficulty in finding a greater exponent of this than Darren Hayden who was arguably Éire Óg's man of the match on Sunday. His ball-carrying skills, his balance and his sleight of foot take him past opponents with a deceptive ease. And then there is his speed; a sense of frustration among pursuing opponents is palpable as he eludes their vainly stretching arms. Two of his points on Sunday were of the crowd-gasping variety; one a solo effort from beyond midfield, the second was the final element in a sweeping movement which also involved Paul Pegman and Éoin Ó Neill and which started on our own 30 yard line. Kenny Naughton at cornerback frustrated many a Valleymount attack with his persistence and timely interventions while Paul Pegman was proactive in his full back role. Overall, however, the back division was unsettled by the early loss of Craig Smullen in a yellow-card tackle. Stephen "Chester" Kelly, besides scoring the opening goal, was prominent in mid-field play throughout. Incidentally we lost 2-14 to 2-16.

Having lost to Newtown on Thursday the Junior B's are now out of contention for league honours. Their championship honour hopes still flicker, the question is will they burst into flame tomorrow, Thursday night, in Roundwood. Bí sa Tóchar oíche amárach to be among the first to know the answer.

The U-16's drew with Tinahely Wednesday in Tinahely in a high scoring game. For mentors Ray Barry, Fergus O'Brien and Alan Keating this result carried the satisfaction rating of a victory. They had seen their charges recover from an apparently irretrievable half-time 5pt deficit situation with a determination and commitment which would give joy to any trainer. In sport while victory is sweet it is the striving which is of greatest importance. They key to the result was the game-keeper turned poacher role change of Daniel Salmon from full-back to full-forward - his tally was 3 goals. The game ended in a wealth of excitement with Tinahely equalising through the last kick of the game.

Whew! Think of the huge commitment, preparation and organisation involved in all that!