Focus on the fine journey to Croker, not the end result

ISINCERELY hope that the disappointment of Saturday’s heavy defeat in Croke Park won’t linger among the Rathgarogue-Cushinstown faithful. Rather than beating themselves up over the fact that they were soundly beaten, players, mentors and fans alike should seek solace in the countless memorable moments they have shared in the course of a campaign that will be remembered with affection and pride many years from now.

In reality, what happened to the underdogs on the big day cannot really be classed as a huge surprise.

I was in Tralee on Thursday, attending a work conference, and I asked my counterpart in this job in ‘The Kerryman’ for his take on the Na Gaeil team.

He wasn’t being condescending or dismissive of Rathgarogue-Cushinstown’s chances when he reckoned that if things clicked for the local team, they were capable of inflicting a 20-point defeat on their rivals because they were so highly regarded in the Kingdom.

Unfortunately, he was proven right, with a margin of 21 dividing the sides at the finish, but let’s not forget that the new All-Ireland champions had restricted two of their opponents in Munster to paltry tallies of 0-1 and 1-1 respectively in their march to provincial honours.

There are times in sport when a vanquished group simply has to accept the fact that they were beaten by a vastly superior team.

This encounter was a case in point, but I am confident that the players will enjoy a rest from the football fields for a while before launching an all-out assault on the county Intermediate championship over the coming months.

St. Anne’s will be regarded by most as hot favourites to bounce back immediately from their Senior relegation, but a battle-hardened Rathgarogue-Cushinstown now have a taste for action outside the county bounds and will be anxious to tap further into the momentum that took them all the way to Croke Park.

Of all the memories created by the club in recent months, funnily enough the one that stands out for me didn’t occur inside the white lines at all.

After the semi-final, in his chat with our reporter Brendan Furlong, team manager James Bolger disclosed that a 150-strong crowd of players, mentors and supporters had ventured up Lacken Hill in unison on the following morning to savour the stunning views.

It left me with the impression of a club literally on the march, with everyone welcomed as part of that journey, from the players of the past all the way down to the tiny tots with their careers in the green and gold colours yet to unfold.

That loosening up exercise, no doubt conducted with everyone in high spirits after the thrills and spills of the day before, summed up for me the powerful force for good that the G.A.A. can be in parishes big and small.

There was nobody disowning the players last Saturday, just because they lost their way after a quite promising first 20 minutes.

It was the exact opposite, in fact, as the scenes after the game when the supporters cheered their heroes to the rafters highlighted the precious bond that has been built on this adventure.

There may be eleven months to go in 2020, but it will take a special achievement by a club to match the feats of Rathgarogue-Cushinstown since last October.

Fair play to all concerned for putting football on the map in the county again at a time when it needed a lift more than ever before.

On that score, I’m sure that many folk would have looked at the final scoreline from Glenavy on Sunday and dismissed it as another sign that our fortunes are close to rock bottom.

However, I’m prepared to give everyone involved the benefit of the doubt until we see how they fare at home to Carlow on Saturday.

One aspect that any Wexford follower present in Glenavy would have to be encouraged by was the unrelenting effort produced by everyone concerned in their fruitless quest for the points.

The problems that resulted in Antrim taking the spoils would appear to be easy enough to solve in my view, and it was only natural that some newcomers would require a bedding in period.

Having said that, Carlow have momentum for this vital derby.