Nobody from St Michael's argued with the result in the All-Ireland Intermediate final last Saturday night. They could not.
And it was great to meet so many of their supporters in such reasonable and mature form in Jurys after the game.They took their defeat on the chin and in good spirit. That is to be admired.
They were well beaten by a superior team and there is no shame in that. On the contrary, the way their side battled right to the final whistle despite being outclassed was a credit to them and their mentors.
The boys from Foilmore were a terrific team and in my humble opinion would beat many of the sides who play senior in Galway. They were all rangy mobile players who were very good on the ball and their support play was top class. Current Kerry manager Jack O'Connor's son, Cian, was at full-forward and he was a tough customer to deal with, although Alan Glynn did his best to tame him. O’Connor’s goal after the break put his side ahead, and they went on to win by four points, 1-13 to 1-9.
St Michael's needed to win midfield and when that did not happen, they were always going to be under pressure.
Robbie Hannon did not put a foot wrong in goal and Damo Walsh did his utmost at left corner back. Both Jamie Downes and Cian McClafferty at wing back worked hard with McClafferty tearing up the field on a few great sallies. Michael Feeney was dangerous on the edge of the square any time the ball went into him and Conor Hoctor scored his 1-1 with a lot of style.
I was also impressed by the workrate, leadership, and free-taking of team captain Greg Rogan who ended with 0-5 (5fs ) after his name.
2008/2009 has been a great year for St Michael's and they won a lot of admirers on their journey. They have to re-focus now and try to make an impact at senior level which won't be easy.
