‘I actually think it’s going to be a cracker of a game’
ASHFORD
IT seems like a lifetime ago since Ashford beat Valleymount in the Junior ‘A’ football championship at the end of July. Their second win from as many games, Ashford looked disciplined, methodical, and commanding both with and without the ball, with the firepower up front to punish a flagrantly misfiring Valleymount outfit.
Fast forward to this Saturday, when Valleymount and Ashford meet again, this time in the hotly-anticipated final, fortunes have changed. While both have done well to get to this point, Valleymount rebounded from that initial defeat to Ashford to record significant victories over the likes of 2020 beaten finalists Blessington, while Ashford’s performance levels have dipped since that day in Roundwood.
When they met Barndarrig in the semi-finals a couple of weeks ago, after knocking out St. Patrick’s in a quarter-final in which they looked vulnerable at times, Ashford looked hesitant, nervous, and spent much of that particular tie on the back-foot. Luckily for Darren Doyle and co., they still possessed the individual quality to get the job
done when push came to shove through Ross Quinn’s meticulously crafted goal. That did not spare them from their manager’s remarkably honest assessment of the game, however.
‘I genuinely think we need to improve all over the field,’ he said in the immediate aftermath of the game, a criticism that still lingers as he and his troops intensify their preparations for Saturday,
although he is of the devout belief that, on their day, they have the quality capable of challenging anybody in the tier.
‘Barndarrig were a good side and probably could have taken us, probably should have taken us, but we got a 15-minute run, so we changed the game. We had a good 15 minutes but we were slow off the start. Half 11 starts don’t suit us, in general. This 5pm
Saturday does suit us. We just need to turn up for it.
‘Without a doubt [we are good enough]. We just need to produce it for the 60 minutes. Over the 15 minutes of games we have played in, we do well and we can open teams up. It is just the rest of the game. It is the 45 minutes before that does be our problem.
‘The training was stable before we went into It, but it is a lot better now. We are moving a lot better now. The few niggling injuries are gone, so we should be fullstrength now.’
The sentiment regarding their performance against Barndarrig and how important the required improvements are is echoed by Doyle’s captain, Rob Clarkson. The 24-year-old is well aware of what Ashford’s shortcomings were against Barndarrig.
‘There is a lot more in us, I think. The performance was not the best,’ he admitted.
‘We all had a conversation at training. We all knew we could do better and that there was a lot more in it. There is a better performance in us. Valleymount are a better team. They are a good team and we can’t afford to be slipping up.’
‘We have had good numbers. The training has been intense, heavy. Everyone is getting stuck into each other and fighting for their places. You could see against Barndarrig that there will be big changes around the pitch.’
It may very well prove to be a case of a performance being more beneficial than detrimental to Ashford’s preparation. For better or worse, their best warm-up for the final was the semi-final. The performance level from the latter will impact on the former, no doubt, but better to find out your shortcomings before you play the final than during.
Whatever the case may be, Ashford will need to have learnt their lessons to mount a sustainable opposition against Valleymount. Their previous meeting at the end of July might as well have been a lifetime ago; both teams have experienced changes and will likely be a lot different than what was seen on that day.
‘I expect a big change from Valleymount. i actually think it is going to be cracker of a game. I think the two teams are very evenly matched, that we will both go at eachother and it will just be a runner of a game, said Doyle, while his captain said: ‘I am expecting a very physical game. We beat them earlier in the year and they will be mad to go at it again.’
It all comes down to this weekend. On the one hand, Ashford will be going into the game with something to prove following recently disappointing showings. On the other, you have a Valleymount team that has been improving with every passing round following their defeat to Ashford. It all comes to a head this Saturday in Aughrim. Strap yourselves in, it promises to be a wild ride.