CELBRIDGE ARE BACK WITH BANG
Victory is for absent fans, says winning boss Clare
“Football is escapism for all of us”
“County men have been reinvigorated”
NEWBRIDGE or Nowhere. A town and a county ground that became a symbol of a cause, the painted mural still standing tall to greet anyone who enters St Conleth’s Park.
It was the push for a home venue against Mayo in the 2018 All-Ireland SFC qualifiers that put then county manager Cian O’Neill on the Six One News, that had singer-songwriter and proud Kildare man Christy Moore rallying in behind.
The forces that be in Kildare GAA must have been tempted to re-enact a version of same after their own sporting lockdown, to make a stand and get the fans out when the logic of the new restrictions allow for people to attend a church Mass, the latest Bond release, but not support their own teams in the club championship.
When the Government decided to single out one county and localise the restrictions, the impact went from the economic to the social to the sporting, immediately putting the local championships on hold and raising questions about the viability of any inter-county return or winter All-Ireland.
This meeting between Celbridge and Round Towers yesterday was the first part of a triple header of senior football action at the ground, to go with a similar bill on Saturday, the county board now facing a tighter window to squeeze in all club activity.
Right now, even a senior championship game has a challenge match feel to it without the dynamic the crowd adds: the buzz, the charged atmosphere, the pressure that builds towards throw-in. It’s so eerie to see both squads pick a section of the main stand and throw the gear bags down with the dressing room off limits. The jerseys being hung in numerical order over the railing beside the dug-out.
A hard working Round Towers side in the image of their manager Glenn Ryan stunned Naas in the opening round – only to be undone in round two here by a third quarter burst by Celbridge.
Before putting flesh on the bones of Celbridge’s eight-point victory, winning manager Dave Clare talked about another surreal day where the main street was bustling but the turnstiles were locked.
‘Football is escapism. For all of us. Whether you are a supporter, a player. Fellas in the club, some of them have been ringing me, telling me they haven’t missed a senior match with Celbridge in 25 years. And yet now they are outside the fence, trying to look in.
Today’s result is for them. Hopefully a bit of common sense will come into it and let fellas back in to watch matches.
‘It’s madness. Look at Croke Park – it can hold weddings but you can’t sit down in the terrace. It’s absolute madness. The standard of Kildare senior football is huge, and it’s a showpiece for everybody.
‘What is the reality of a fella passing it around here in a match – it’s not going to happen. I’ve worked through the whole thing as a prison officer. Luckily enough, we’ve been to the forefront in keeping it out. The same here, the GAA are brilliant at that. All the stuff they’ve put in in the background, the Covid officers, the online check-in – it’s amazing. I’d say to the Government: trust us.’
The Round Towers defensive set-up was a bit of a throwback, like a winter coat that has gone out of fashion. The likes of Dublin have set the template in how to attack in numbers and find creative ways of picking the lock but with Celbridge afraid to commit numbers for the first quarter, a cagey sort of stalemate occurred.
At the first water break then, the teams were hunched together on 0-2 apiece, Stuart Murphy sticking an early point for Round Towers and Jamie Flynn kicking another fine score while Celbridge had a Mick O’Grady point from play after a strong run down the middle to go with a David Hughes free.
Two moments of real quality lit up proceedings: Celbridge goalkeeper Shane McNamara casually floating a 45 miles over the crossbar and then Towers fullback Michael Joyce rounding off a slick counter-attack with a point after another barrelling run by Jamie Flynn.
From a point where Celbridge held a slender 0-5 to 0-4 lead at half-time, a couple of quick points prized open a gap for the first time in the game. Tony Archbold scooted unnoticed up the right touchline until Mick O’Grady picked him out to curl a good score. Then a turnover on Round Towers ended with David Hughes getting his first from play.
When goalkeeper McNamara ambled forward to thump a free over the bar from all of 57 metres, it was double scores 0-8 to 0-4 and he finished with five from placed balls in a peerless display of kicking. The game was meandering to a conclusion with Celbridge well on top when Round Towers went route one, banging a ball in on top of midfielder Mark Waters who had gone in to full-forward. The breaking ball fell straight to Stephen Comerford who tucked it in the top corner from close range.
Just when Towers sniffed another upset, Celbridge finished with a flourish, substitute Aaron Browne grabbing a late goal.
Afterwards, Clare continued the theme of Kildare’s extended lockdown and insisted the pandemic has presented a vision for the future in terms of the proposed split season involving July All-Irelands.
‘I think the split season is a great idea. The ratio of training to playing is just gone crazy. That treadmill is hopefully gone now. People can see it’s about playing football, not about training for football.
‘I think it’s re-invigorated the county players as well. They have got off that treadmill.
‘They can go back to it now. And go back with renewed vigour.’