There may be different versions of what transpired in Greenogue Park yesterday afternoon. None are likely to quell the feeling that it was an embarrassing afternoon for the SSE Airtricity Women’s Premier Division.
The Galway United position is clear. Phil Trill was raw and candid when he spoke to Jonathan Higgins after bringing players, coaches, officials and supporters to Dublin only for the game to be cancelled at 4pm, an hour before kick-off.
“We were told at 4pm that the grass pitch wasn’t playable. There was an Under 17 League of Ireland game played on that pitch at 1pm today. Nothing had been done. No ground staff available.
“Credit to the match officials. They were onsite early. They were doing everything they could to try and get the game played. But we are deeply disappointed with the way that the game was approached.
“We offered to fork the pitch ourselves. We offered to help in any way possible. We offered to even change and go on the astro turf. Peamount actually suggested it first, that we would play on their astro turf. We okayed it. Unfortunately, Peamount didn’t okay it in the end.
“There is a real sense of frustration going home today. I just feel that one team came to play today, and the other team had no interest. To be fair, two teams, the officials came to play today.
“I think there are bigger factors at play. I think they had a couple of players unavailable. We’ll play them no matter who they have. It doesn’t matter to us. I just thought it was quite amateur in the way certain people approached the situation, trying to get the game called off, especially when ourselves and the officials were actively working to get the game to go ahead.
“I mightn’t be the oldest manager in the league, but I’m around long enough to know when people want to play and when they don’t. It’s just really disappointing because it’s a historic club. Peamount have done phenomenal things for the women’s game in our country.
“The one positive to come from it is look at how far Galway United have come now in that Peamount, who played in the Champions League last year, do not want to play us.”
The Peamount position will be interesting, if and when it comes to light. It would be helpful to hear from the league too. If statements are to carry any weight, they should address some core concerns.
Why was it deemed appropriate to play a League of Ireland Under-17 game on a pitch earmarked for the top level of domestic women’s soccer roughly two hours later? Why were there no ground staff available to ready a pitch for top tier action? Why was the artificial grass, presumably a facility frequently used by the club, deemed unfit for use?
What is unquestionable is that the young women who travelled to represent Galway yesterday, who continue to make significant sacrifices in their personal and professional lives to do so, deserve better.
