EIRE OG GREYSTONES
Fixtures - Renault Senior Football Championship, Round 3, Éire Óg v Coolkenno Saturday, August 20, in Aughrim at 6.45 p.m.
The history of the games between these two clubs suggests that Coolkenno will present a formidable challenge. Your support would give great encouragement to the players. Bí ann gan teip.
Lotto - The winning numbers for Monday, August 8, were 9, 12, 21, and 30. The main jackpot survived but there were two match three winners and each received €100. The jackpot for Monday, August 15, was €10,400.
Hurling - At a recent training night for our footballers and camogie players one got into conversation with a Spanish colleague of Jack Commons.
It turned out that he was a closeted hurling admirer and he had gone to a championship game or two i bPáirc an Chrócaigh.
He, a man with a keen interest in the so-called beautiful game, described the sport of hurling as amazing. Hyperbole! Not at all. How could the recent semi-finals between the Déise and Kilkenny be described as other than ‘amazing’? Incidentally he was also impressed by the enthusiasm of our camógs.
Obviously skill levels in general drop off considerably in the descent through the grades but that is not to say that flashes of brilliant stick work are not to be found in the lower reaches.
There is one facet of the game, however, which is essentially retained at every level namely that of the sport’s ability, through the nature of the scoring and the courageous physicality of the tackling, to generate excitement.
All this is by way of putting our recent game against Avondale in the semi-final of the Junior hurling championship in Ashford in context.
Those who would, because of the match’s lowly status, have dismissed it with a cynical shrug of the shoulders would have been greatly surprised how attention-grabbing and entertaining a contest it was.
The game produced 36 scores (2-19 to 1-14) over the hour and the scoring was tit-for-tat until late in the 2nd half so spectators spent much of the last 30 minutes in anxious glance between watch and electronic scoreboard.
Éire Óg were first out of the blocks and were two points up after only six minutes. However parity was restored by the 12th. And so it continued with one team and then the other in the lead through to the break which saw Greystones in the fortunate position of being 1 point ahead. Fortunate because our happy circumstance was due more to Avondale’s inaccuracy (eight wides) than to our lads’ endeavours.
On the 43rd minute an elegant strike from 55 metres out on the sideline by Martin Joyce landed the sliothar on the edge of the square where Phelim Byrne was on hand to shepherd it to the net (some doubt still remains as to whom the goal should be attributed!).
As a result Na Clocha Liatha had a four-point lead going into the last quarter. This, however, proved to be a false dawn as the goal was cancelled out in the opposition’s next attack when a misunderstanding in the backs presented them with a simple tap-in. Avondale shut out the game soon after with another goal.
A gallant effort by Éire Óg but it has to be conceded that the better team, on the day, won. James Kelly at centre-back was Greystones’ MOTM.
There were also fine performances from Barney Carroll in goal and from the self-effacing Mark Barry at full-back. Kristian Flynn worked effectively in his unaccustomed role as a half-forward while Hughie O’Neill chipped with three well taken minors. 1-7 (0-6 from placed balls) came from the camán of Martin Joyce. Thus ended the Junior hurlers’ 2016 odyssey.
Comhgáirdeachas - To dual player Stephen Kelly on his recent engagement to Katie Graham. Go raibh saol fada taitneamhach acu le chéile.
Best wishes to Mark Mitchell who is celebrating a significant birthday. Mark, an enthusiastic Éire Óg supporter, is husband of Rosemary who is a long serving Lotto scrutineer and former manager of the ladies’ football team. Their daughter, Laura, was a prominent member of the ladies’ team.