Éire Óg Greystones
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Weekly Notes - 11th July 2007

Intermediates

Thursday 5th July. High summer. Who would have believed it? A lowering sky spitting rain, a wind working itself up into what was later to become a storm-force frenzy. No wonder then at the Éire Óg supporters setting out for the Intermediate championship match v Carnew harbouring thoughts which inclined to the pessimistic " these conditions will definitely place our lighter less physical team at a disadvantage" and "look at the way we allowed victory to slip from our grasp against the same opposition last year". Their spirits were raised somewhat when they arrived at the splendidly appointed Rathnew grounds and saw that the underfoot conditions were, in fact, not at all as bad as anticipated. The pitch, however, is very exposed and the players had to cope throughout the game with a strong and gusting cross-wind which did not at all help the cause of precision football - well struck balls were often blown off target and carefully weighed passes were squalled beyond the reach of intended receivers. To their credit the players from both sides handled the conditions well and we were treated to an exciting open and interesting game, thanks in no small way to the even-handed no-nonsense refereeing of Derek Greene.

Éire Óg went on the attack from the beginning and after 2 minutes James Leonard opened our account with a wonderful point from all of 60 yards. This was followed by another Éire Óg point. But then the Carnew attack began to show menace and our defence was looking decidedly vulnerable. A foolish infringement, a penalty for Carnew. Saved. Hesitancy among the Éire Óg backs, the rebound finished to the back of the net, 2 points in arrears. No fault of goalie Keith Monaghan who capped an all-round solid performance with a spectacular match-saving full-length save in the 2nd half. The penalty was followed shortly by an Éire Óg goal which etched itself in the memory by the beauty of its execution. Craig Smullen at centre-back found Darren Hayden with a precisely delivered pass. Darren, who after drawing the defence, hand-passed to Conor Monaghan who had ghosted himself, Dan Shanahanwise, inside the full-back line. The goalie hadn't a chance. Darren's skill on the ball, his beautifully balanced movement and his intelligently angled runs which drew cheers of appreciation were worthy of a wider stage. Among the other football delights to be savoured on the night were Johnny Barry's accuracy with the placed ball which, apart from a homeric nod on the first forty-five, was unerring and the spectacular fielding of centre-field pair, James Leonard and Daniel English. A 3 point victory, much rejoicing but a keen awareness of the challenge that will be presented by Ballymanus in the next round in Arklow on Tuesday 17th.

Féile

All the reports on the Féile week-end have been full of praise: for the hospitality received in the West, for the efficiency with which the event was run off and for the way in which the journey to and fro was handled. Arrangements for the trip were in the hands of Felicity Keane and Fergus O'Brien and they went off a treat. Scheduling, which was Fergus' remit, was at Germanic train-timetabling level.

In their 5 game programme Éire Óg's toughest opponents were Warwickshire, incidentally managed by Eddie O'Connor of Valleymount who was goalie on the Wicklow minor team of which Johnny Barry was a member. The game was balanced on a knife edge for its duration and key to our victory lay in three outstanding saves from keeper Adam Manning. The final v Clonmel Commercials never approached the semi-final in excitement or football excellence. Éire Óg were clearly the better team but the exertions of the semi-final had taken their toll and lapses in concentration allowed Clonmel in for 2 goals which were very much against the run of play.

Ladies

Congratulations to our ladies on reaching the final of the Junior A championship by virtue of a hard earned victory over Baltinglass in Valleymount on Sunday.(More next week).