Éire Óg Greystones
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Weekly Notes - 1st August 2007

Ladies Football

A week has passed yet the pain remains. Time, that so-called great healer, has been palliative rather than curative in its effect. Of what great tragedy does one speak? The defeat suffered by our ladies at the hands of An Tochar in the Junior A county final in Newtown. Their disappointment at this defeat was accentuated by being back to back with last year's loss to Kilcoole. They were left with Sisyphian feelings of despair. Were they ever going to roll the stone on to the brow?

Both games were very similar in the way in which they evolved, with, in each case, Éire Óg recovering from near hopeless situations to be tantalisingly close at the final whistle to compelling Fortune to fulfil her promise to the brave. Unfortunately, time frustrated her in the bestowing of her beneficence. An Tochar were being supported by a very shaky back-foot nuair a shéid an fheadóg.

Could Éire Óg have had a more disastrous start? At the end of microwave transmitted updates one sank deeper and deeper into depression at the news of the continuing deluge of An Tochar scores, 2-7 to 0-1 ahead after 10 minutes. Could Éire Óg be that bad? Were they totally out of their depth against a recently regraded Roundwood? Surely not. The situation was decidedly calling for a time-out - unfortunately such is not incorporated in the rules. Something worth thinking about? A plea to the correspondent to break off communications and not to subject us to any more of this torture. Half-time score 2-9 to 0-5. Had the flow of An Tochar scores been staunched?

In the second half Éire Óg were, without doubt, the superior team and had the Roundwood goals under almost constant threat. In their desperation to defend their lead the An Tochar ladies conceded numerous frees which had the effect of spiking many promising Éire Óg movements. While, in this case not for a minute impugning the opposition with any ulterior strategic motive, one does feel that referees should be more aware of the effect of such a succession of fouls, deliberate or as an ad hoc response, on the game as a spectacle and on its outcome, and punish accordingly. A frustrating "if only" 2 point defeat for Éire Óg. A lengthy (due to a somewhat dramatic ambulance manoeuvre) inadvertent time-out caused by a knee injury to Roundwood's Chrisse Short had a definite bearing on the outcome. It had the effect of taking the steam out of, what seemed at the time, to be an inexorable push towards victory by Éire Óg. We in Éire Óg wish Chrissie a speedy recovery to full fitness.

After the game the 'girls' repaired to a barbecue in Janey O'Hallorans where they were regaled with the best in cuisine, in music and in song headlined by Jo Leonard and Orla Kelly and supported by some earthy C and W contributions from Carmel and Seán Deeney.

Intermediate Football

The Intermediate footballers took a step back from the brink last week with their victory over St. Pats in the championship. Bray Emmets now remain the only stumbling block on our way to the play-off stages and there is no way that the lads are taking anything for granted. The final score in the St.Pats match, 1-15 to 2-4 masks the drama of the 1st half. St. Pats goaled from the throw-in and were soon 1-2 to 0-1 ahead. Éire Óg jitteringly clawed their way back to lead 0-7 to 1-3 at the interval. The post-break story can be gleaned from the final score. A particular pleasing aspect of the game from the Éire Óg point of view was the performance of the forwards, five out of six of whom contributed to the tally.