Entertaining style of play a positive sign on club front
THE 2019 football championships began with a bang last weekend as the local G.A.A. season got under way in earnest. A jam-packed adult fixture list combined with a round of Under-17 football made it a necessity for the local hacks to plot their way around the county with military precision.
The fixtures committee also have their hands full arranging suitable venues and juggling referees and linesmen to meet the demand for officials.
These are just some of the activities behind the scenes that are taken for granted, but are an essential part of the well-oiled machine that keeps the season flowing and the public informed.
In Senior Group A, Shelmaliers got their defence off to a perfect start with an eight-point win over Fethard, Starlights were impressive in beating St. Anne’s, while Glynn-Barntown rallied to earn a draw with Horeswood after being eight points down at one stage.
In Group B, St. James’ beat Sarsfields by three, St. Martin’s had a deserved win over Castletown, while Gusserane produced the biggest surprise of the weekend by beating last year’s losing finalists, Kilanerin.
Intermediate will again be the most competitive grade this year, with the pick of the results being St. Mary’s (Maudlintown) winning over last year’s finalists, Crossabeg-Ballymurn.
The other St. Mary’s from Rosslare also had a big win against Ballyhogue, while a young Bunclody team also laid down an early marker with a big first round win.
Another dark horse in the Intermediate grade, St. Fintan’s, had a good win by four points over Duffry Rovers.
Next week’s fixtures will go a long way towards determining what will happen later in the year, but based on the games I saw over the weekend we could be in for a few shock results over this year’s championships.
The one heartening thing I saw over the weekend was the style of football adapted by most teams.
The majority of games were entertaining, there wasn’t a lot of blanket defence football on display, and high scoring seemed to be the order of the day.
In general, the games were more entertaining so hopefully coaches and teams are returning to the old way of playing football, where there is more emphasis on the ‘foot’ part of the name of the game.
That seems to be the trend nationally also, at least in the league this year. Tyrone, probably one of the biggest culprits in previous years, seemed to have released the shackles and are now playing a more attacking type of football.
The league final last Sunday between Mayo and Kerry was the type of game we all prefer watching, and the crowd of over 44,000 certainly got value for money.
The G.A.A. must be complimented for putting the three major finals - camogie, hurling and football - on in the one venue on the one day. It’s an initiative that gave great entertainment and an opportunity to see some of the best teams in the country showcasing