8 March 2007 Edition
The Matt Treacy Column
If only they had phones in Belfast the poor Dubs would have been spared a fruitless trek to Casement Park last Sunday. As it happened the team was ready to take the field when it was decided to abandon the game due to the condition of the pitch following severe overnight rain.
Only jesting my friends. The decision to postpone was clearly the right one in the circumstances and both team managements agreed with the judgement of referee Ger Devlin that the pitch was unsafe. While the Dublin supporters who made the journey were disappointed there was also an element of relief that the possibility of a repeat of last year’s fiasco against Westmeath in the O’Moore Park aqua sports centre was avoided.
The match has been rescheduled for Wednesday, 28 March which is not good for either team as it will mean they each have three vital games within the space of eight days. Apparently Antrim do not want to play this coming Sunday because of the involvement of some of their players in the Fitzgibbon Cup. Which county will come to rue this ill-conceived idea?
The postponement gave us the opportunity to watch Kilkenny and Tipperary on the television. It was a keenly contested game for the time of the year and will have boosted Bab’s credibility as he seeks to build a team capable of at least winning Munster. Three All Irelands in 20 years is not regarded as success in the Premier County.
Tipp did win the minor title last year and were defeated by Kilkenny in the replayed under 21 final. One of the subs on that team, Danny O’Hanlon, lined out at full forward last Sunday and scored two goals and a point. Tipperary have a nice blend of experience in the likes of Dunne, Corbett and Eoin Kelly alongside the younger players and they will have high expectations this year.
Kilkenny are still missing the Ballyhale players and in particular the ruthlessness in attack brought by Henry Shefflin. Even so, they did well to come back from being 10 points down at one stage to narrow the gap to two before an Eoin Kelly free ended the match as a contest. Cody will not be particularly concerned about the poor start to the league but he may well be pondering the fact that while key players are set to return, that none of the younger players are as yet setting the world alight.
Some observers are beginning to suspect that the high profile move of Mick O’Dwyer to take over the Wicklow footballers may actually have been a ruse to distract attention from the plans of their senior hurlers to win Division Two. In their first match they beat Meath and they trumped that last weekend by claiming the scalp of Laois. Possibly the biggest victory ever in Wicklow senior hurling?
Laois have been in somewhat of a decline in recent years but this still rates as a considerable shock. I saw Dublin beating Wicklow last year by some ridiculous margin and although they had one or two useful players they were clearly one of the weaker teams in Division Two.
Prominent among their stars that day was Leighton Glynn from Glenealy who is also one of Dwyer’s lynchpins on the football team. He played in midfield last Sunday was one of the key factors in Wicklow’s victory. Glynn is one of the last remaining survivors of the Lesser Spotted Dual Player and long may he stay with it. Dublin and others would certainly have benefited in recent years if the same ethos applied.
Wicklow have now beaten the team that was long odds on to win the division and another of the stronger teams. They top section 2A and have matches away to Carlow and are at home to Armagh and Derry. On form you would fancy them to win at least two of those which would give them an excellent chance of making the play offs.
They would then be in potential contention for promotion to Division One! Something I don’t believe Wicklow ever achieved before.
This coming weekend see the finals of the All Ireland intermediate and junior club finals. The football finals are being held under the lights in Croke Park on Saturday and feature Duagh of Kerry versus Greencastle of Tyrone in the junior decider and Ardfert of the Kingdom and Eoghan Ruadh of Coleraine in the intermediate.
The hurling finals are on Sunday with Danesfort of Kilkenny and Clooney Gaels of Antrim in the junior and Killimordaly of Galway and Robert Emmets of London in the intermediate. These finals were excellent last year and it is good to see that Croke Park is being put to some good use at this time of the year. The use for which it was intended if memory serves me correctly.
Finally, it was revealed during the week that Mayo midfielder Ronan McGarrity has been forced to withdraw from football to receive treatment for cancer. Things like that put sport into perspective but hopefully his strength and fitness will stand to him and it will not be long before he is back in the red and green.
Only jesting my friends. The decision to postpone was clearly the right one in the circumstances and both team managements agreed with the judgement of referee Ger Devlin that the pitch was unsafe. While the Dublin supporters who made the journey were disappointed there was also an element of relief that the possibility of a repeat of last year’s fiasco against Westmeath in the O’Moore Park aqua sports centre was avoided.
The match has been rescheduled for Wednesday, 28 March which is not good for either team as it will mean they each have three vital games within the space of eight days. Apparently Antrim do not want to play this coming Sunday because of the involvement of some of their players in the Fitzgibbon Cup. Which county will come to rue this ill-conceived idea?
The postponement gave us the opportunity to watch Kilkenny and Tipperary on the television. It was a keenly contested game for the time of the year and will have boosted Bab’s credibility as he seeks to build a team capable of at least winning Munster. Three All Irelands in 20 years is not regarded as success in the Premier County.
Tipp did win the minor title last year and were defeated by Kilkenny in the replayed under 21 final. One of the subs on that team, Danny O’Hanlon, lined out at full forward last Sunday and scored two goals and a point. Tipperary have a nice blend of experience in the likes of Dunne, Corbett and Eoin Kelly alongside the younger players and they will have high expectations this year.
Kilkenny are still missing the Ballyhale players and in particular the ruthlessness in attack brought by Henry Shefflin. Even so, they did well to come back from being 10 points down at one stage to narrow the gap to two before an Eoin Kelly free ended the match as a contest. Cody will not be particularly concerned about the poor start to the league but he may well be pondering the fact that while key players are set to return, that none of the younger players are as yet setting the world alight.
Some observers are beginning to suspect that the high profile move of Mick O’Dwyer to take over the Wicklow footballers may actually have been a ruse to distract attention from the plans of their senior hurlers to win Division Two. In their first match they beat Meath and they trumped that last weekend by claiming the scalp of Laois. Possibly the biggest victory ever in Wicklow senior hurling?
Laois have been in somewhat of a decline in recent years but this still rates as a considerable shock. I saw Dublin beating Wicklow last year by some ridiculous margin and although they had one or two useful players they were clearly one of the weaker teams in Division Two.
Prominent among their stars that day was Leighton Glynn from Glenealy who is also one of Dwyer’s lynchpins on the football team. He played in midfield last Sunday was one of the key factors in Wicklow’s victory. Glynn is one of the last remaining survivors of the Lesser Spotted Dual Player and long may he stay with it. Dublin and others would certainly have benefited in recent years if the same ethos applied.
Wicklow have now beaten the team that was long odds on to win the division and another of the stronger teams. They top section 2A and have matches away to Carlow and are at home to Armagh and Derry. On form you would fancy them to win at least two of those which would give them an excellent chance of making the play offs.
They would then be in potential contention for promotion to Division One! Something I don’t believe Wicklow ever achieved before.
This coming weekend see the finals of the All Ireland intermediate and junior club finals. The football finals are being held under the lights in Croke Park on Saturday and feature Duagh of Kerry versus Greencastle of Tyrone in the junior decider and Ardfert of the Kingdom and Eoghan Ruadh of Coleraine in the intermediate.
The hurling finals are on Sunday with Danesfort of Kilkenny and Clooney Gaels of Antrim in the junior and Killimordaly of Galway and Robert Emmets of London in the intermediate. These finals were excellent last year and it is good to see that Croke Park is being put to some good use at this time of the year. The use for which it was intended if memory serves me correctly.
Finally, it was revealed during the week that Mayo midfielder Ronan McGarrity has been forced to withdraw from football to receive treatment for cancer. Things like that put sport into perspective but hopefully his strength and fitness will stand to him and it will not be long before he is back in the red and green.