I was driving home from Dublin last Sunday evening when my good friend Pat Holmes eventually managed to get through to me on the phone. He could barely talk as his voice was practically gone. Normally, when Pat’s voice is hoarse, things have not gone too well. We had spoken earlier in the morning and I gathered then that he was nervous about playing Crossmolina later in the afternoon. I’m not so sure he was any the better after having spoken with me earlier as all I told him to do was to relax as there was a huge number of Cross lads out injured.
As it transpired, Crossmolina pulled off a famous win over their more illustrious opponents and, as Cross now top the group with the Mitchels relegated to the runner up spot, they (Mitchels ) got the tougher end of the draw, which transpired to be Ballintubber, in the quarter-finals.
When I arrived in Crossmolina later that night, the place was rocking! It is amazing what a win in championship football can do for the ‘feel good’ factor of a small town. John Cooney, a Meath man, runs Maughan’s pub in the town these days. He is a very proud Meath supporter and despite the history is not shy about flying the Meath colours in north Mayo whenever he gets a chance. He was both happy and sad last Sunday. The pub was packed but his beloved Meath were beaten. However the chest was out with the manner in which his team had played. He believes they have a great future. They very well may have, but I suspect the Dubs will be there or thereabouts for many years to come if they can replicate the desire and passion of the likes of Kilkenny. Having watched the Dublin minors again last Sunday, they are continuing to produce quality footballers through their underage system.
The Dubs do enough again
Getting back to Croke Park I thought it was a fantastic day and I thoroughly enjoyed the big game. More than 70,000 packed the stadium and anyone who has been to a big match between these two great rivals will realise that the atmosphere is absolutely brilliant on such occasions. The Dubs now have the best provincial record of any county in recent times, having won Leinster for the seventh time in eight years. They are an excellent team and were fully deserving of their win last Sunday. What a shame though that Meath left it so late to score the goal that reduced the margin to three points. Had that score come a little earlier, it would surely have asked some tough questions of this Dublin side and provided a real tense finish which would have been great for the neutrals among us. Pat Gilroy, the Dublin manager, got the perfect result in many ways. He has enough reason to kick ass at training over the next three weeks that will more than likely ensure the continuance of the incremental improvement we have witnessed over the last few months.
Donegal look the real deal
Donegal were another team to catch the eye with a scintillating display of football last Sunday. A number of sports journalists gathered around the TV monitors to watch the Ulster final in Croke Park and all were in agreement that Donegal’s incredible football reinvention is practically complete. It is truly remarkable to witness the transformation in these boys over such a short period of time. They look like the complete package now - fit, athletic, strong and talented. They have a pretty cool customer in charge too who appears to have little to learn when it comes to knowing what is required at this level. Incidentally, these are the same Donegal players who so very often got lost for a day or two in and around Donegal town after a match a couple of years ago. Not so anymore. They now know where home is and they are all the better for it.
Kerry showed their class when it counted
How naïve of anyone to suggest that Kerry football might be looking at a barren spell? After their big scare in Cusack Park the previous week, they were like men possessed against Tyrone last weekend. In the space of six days they have put their hands up and reminded us all of who they are and where they come from. They are now the team that everyone will be hoping to avoid after the conclusion of the fourth round qualifiers this weekend. I am of course assuming they will beat Clare tomorrow evening to book their place in the drum for the quarter final draw. It has been a long time since I witnessed so many Kerry players as animated after a victory. But their post match body language suggested this victory meant an awful lot to them. Understandable you might suggest, when you consider the record between these two sides over the past decade. See this was more than an ordinary championship match…it had more riding on the outcome. This particular Kerry team stood accused of wilting against the big tough hard boys from up north. It was a blot on their reputations. Joe Brolly weighed in last week when he wrote a hugely critical article of these Kerry footballers. He even had the audacity to question the ability of the Gooch, arguably the finest corner forward of his generation. Oh yeah, the stakes were higher for this one and by God did the Kerry boys respond.
Time for Kildare to stop whinging
I don’t know about you, but I am getting a little fed up listening to Kildare whinging about everything and anything these past few weekends. Again they are unhappy about the choice of venue for tomorrow’s clash against Sligo. Apparently they are unhappy that Sligo would appear to have an unfair advantage as they have already played the Connacht final two weeks ago in Hyde Park. I cannot understand why the chairman of Kildare County Board has gone down this road for the second week in a row, as there was never a pup’s chance of the CCCC changing their minds on this one. I got the distinct impression from a few in Dublin last weekend that they would have Kildare play out on Inishturk if they thought they could get away with it...not that there is anything at all wrong with this beautiful island off the west coast of Mayo.
Now contrast the Kildare attitude to that of Meath and specifically to that of their colourful manager ‘Banty’ McEneaney. Immediately after their heroic efforts last Sunday he was pressed about the extremely difficult task of lifting his players for the dreaded six day turnaround ahead of tomorrow’s match against Laois. Instead of talking about the difficulties attached to the scenario, he sounded bullish and positive about the task ahead. He was sending out a message to his team and supporters that they would embrace the challenge and have a right crack at beating Laois. That kind of talk must be worth a few points on the board before they start at all.
