Congratulations to Munster on their performances throughout the tournament and their deserved victory in the first Belgian Interclub tournament.
The tournament will finish next Tuesday (20 July 2010) with winners Munster and 4th place Dublin playing against 2nd place The West and 3rd place Leinster. The game will kick off at 19:30 in Parc 50 and will be 30 minutes a side with rolling subs. It will be 13/15 a side depending on numbers and everyone is invited back to the Old Oak for the first night of Collie Byrne's stag party and the presentation of the cup to Timmy O'Donovan's Munster. There will be finger food and a belly full of beer, ahead of the Belgian national holiday on 21 July.
Both Munster and CUC came into the final round of games unbeaten as the crowds swelled around parc 50 in anticipation at what was expected to be the showcase match of the tournament. Though a quick glance at the sides during the warm up told a different story. Munster were boasting a particularly inflated squad of 14 seasoned pros while CUC looked to have the bare minimum to field a team. Both provinces however, especially Ulster, have come through worse in the past (historically speaking) so to write them off would have been a massive error and one this reporter was certainly not going to make.
The opening exchanges were tense and yielded few scores but it wasn't long before Munster started to impose their superiority on the game. After Clareman James O'Shaughnessy pointed early on for his side from a sideline, CUC were forced to wait until the dying moments of the first half for their next score. Michael Hough, formidable as ever, was causing huge problems for the CUC defence and was picking off points with relative ease. Munster were an absolute joy to watch at times as Daves Barrett and Collins on the field understanding continued to blossom in the half back line. Their build up play was patient, their passing was consistent and this told on the score board as CUC's hopes of a top of the table finish began to fade.
There was a nifty little new young lad playing in the full back line for Munster who deserves mention for an impressive debut. His presence, though welcomed, adds to the air of discontent within Belgian GAA circles about the mysterious and steady expansion of the Munster squad with unknowns. This was reflected by their increasingly emphatic results since the beginning of the campaign.
This reporter found himself on umpire duty during the match and noted the contrast in mood between both goalkeepers as he fished for quotes and insight. Romadrian in the Munster goal was brash and confident proclaiming "Munster is the best" while Kevin Keary in the CUC goal cut a lonely figure as time and time again, he was forced to collect the ball from the imaginary nets he had forgotten to bring.
Paul Hagan's goal midway through the second half looked to renew CUC's faith and passion but Munster just proved too strong all over the pitch. Not even the famous Olof Gill holler could spur his men on for what would have been an amazing comeback.
Such was the fluidity of Munster's play that I could not pick a man of the match. This reporter recalls a unique moment in 2008 when after a mesmerising performance from his own county in an all-Ireland hurling final, the manager was in fact awarded the man of the match accolade. Therefore, either David Barrett deserves the credit here.
With the "Coalition of the Willing" beaten by "Mercenaries Inc." the Doobs still had a glimmer of hope of making the final. Standing in their way would be Leinster Lite playing for the not insignificant prize of their pride (at least half of this team has been seen marching for Pride).
As soon as the game started Leinster had the look of a team unshackled by their position, while the Dubs seemed to be toiling under the pressure of expectation, living up to the clichés about their county. Leinster grabbed the early initiative which they would refuse to surrender throughout the match, through a classy finish from Colly Byrne who would later add a bitten tongue to his litany of injuries this summer. Scores continued to flow for Leinster including a fisted goal from Conor Aylward in a blatant, pathetic attempt to wrest the title of "Goalpuncher Extraordinaire" from an unnamed injured player.
Halftime saw the Dubs reeling but not out of it yet. Alec Elliot's goal gave them hope albeit the type of hope usually found in gambling addicts spending their last fiver on scratch cards. Eoin Ó Seanain could be seen making apoplectic gestures to his team-mates during the team talk while captain Ciaran Hudson looking on with a distant, slightly glazed look in his eyes.
The second half saw Leinster continue in cruise control giving a lesson in counterattacking football. O Seanain was forced to come deep to look for the ball because Dave "Bonecrusher" Burke was all over him like a cheap suit. In the midst of this classy Leinster performance Crusher seemed to reinvent himself as marauding halfback regularly defying his nosebleeds to pass the halfway line. Similarly Emmett "Devine" Devine bombed forward at every opportunity looking to fill his boots but he must have insulted his team-mates for he was ignored more times than Dave Collins at a singles' night. Fair play to man-mountain Sean O'Connor who got a goal by utilising the skills learnt in his many other sports including soccer, basketball, baseball, archery, dressage, the luge, coxless fours sculling, and interpretive dance.
The game was killed off as a contest by a classy goal by Pearse O'Caoimh whose languid style and devil-may-care demeanour belie a steely determination and a self-belief known only to the most narcissistic of souls.
Ultimately the Dubs will feel that personnel and past performance should have made this contest more competitive and will be disappointed in a somewhat abject display, but credit to the lads from Leinster who could have been in the final themselves had the Fates blown the winds of fortune in their favour during previous encounters.
Cork, Tipperary, Limerick, Waterford, Laois, Offaly, Cavan, England, Kenya, Romania, half the FC Irlande football team, anyone who has ever stepped into the hairy for a pint and the referee: 2-10
On the way up from Strasbourg yesterday afternoon the man on the radio told me that there was a heat wave in France and that all old people should stay indoors.
No wonder then that the Dublin team was without Fergal Mythen, Martin Crowley, Conan Mac Oscair and Denis O'Sullivan. What with a combined age of 603, better the lads stayed at home with their slippers and fixadent, than suffer heat stroke out in the Parc 50. It did leave Dublin extremely short and with only ten men in the stifling heat the Dubs struggled to impose the running game that had been so effective against The West last week.
The game started at breakneck speed and the inevitable schmozzle erupted after only a few minutes played. Timmy went in with the boot on cyclist Phil Roche and Rochey, rightly so, lost the plot. Those watching feared for the mild mannered Cork man who was only going for the ball, like.
As Munster settled into a rhythm they passed the ball superbly around at the back with Barrett, Collins and McGrath creating space for the overlap at every opportunity. Hough was causing major problems and every time he got possession it felt as if a score was coming. Dublin went in at the break 1-5 to 0-1 down and were struggling. They came out fighting in the second half though and through Matti, Alec and Johnny O kicked some very good scores. The second Munster goal from Cavan man Ollie killed off the Dublin challenge although not before some great goalkeeping by Adrian Beau in the Munster net who had proved a thorn in Dublin's side just when a goal would have brought them right back into the game. Notable performances by Adrian, as mentioned, Collins and O'Donnell in midifeld and Matti who worked his socks off for the Dubs against the run of play. Barrett must be criticized for not having the balls to go for a hop ball early in the second half. When taunted to grow a pair and go for it, the contrary little mucksavage retorted: "' I'm too small, like". Yes indeed.
Man of the Match to Michael Hough with some great scoring from out the field and a constant threat in front of the Dublin goal.
Leinster 0-8
The West 2-10
By the time the game started the heat had reduced considerably, which worked to the advantage of the West. Sitting by the radio Big Liam heard that old people were allowed back out again and rushed down to Parc 50 to lend a hand to his fellow bog-munchers. His presence made a big difference, no pun intended, and one wonders if he could have swung a victory for them the last day against the Dubs.
This was a much more fluid encounter and only for two sloppy enough goals Leinster could easily have shaded it. The West had the first sight on goal as the Antrim Maradona who looked more like the Antrim Yakubu tried to catch the ball in front of the goal when a simple punch would have done the trick. He later turned into the Antrim Drogba coming off the field with a very sore hand. The West pushed on though with Big Liam causing all sorts of problems up front and Crusher and Burkey under constant pressure at the back.
Whereas Dublin were simply outclassed Leinster were left to rue some bad wides on a night when they became the first team to exit the race to become Belgium's best club side. Pearse was excellent at times for Leinster and kicked some great scores but the experience of Giller and James O'Connor in midfield shone through as they stamped their authority as the came wore on.
A solid game of end to end football created the outstanding player of the evening in Olof Gill who kicked some masterful scores from all sorts of angles, making it an easy choice for Man of the Match.
Background: the illustrious captain of Belgium GAA’s Mens Football A team, Eoin Sheanon, took it upon himself to rally the troops during the unexpected mid-season off-season of European football, by organising the very first Belgian Interclub League. With a wealth of players to choose from, the players were divided (very evenly*) into 4 teams: Munster and Europe; Dublin and France; Connaught, Ulster and Non-Aligned Territories; and Leinster and the Americas. Here is his account of the first fixture, on Wednesday 30 June.
The Dublin versus the West game was a real humdinger and a tale of two halves. The West dominated the first half with Giller marshalling midfield and Francis in flying form scoring three points from play. In the second half Alec and Diarmuid, with the outside of his boot, completely controlled the centre of the park. Hudson had a fantastic second half keeping Francis scoreless but despite O'Dowd keeping the scoreboard ticking over, the West needed a hero. Cometh the hour, Cometh the man, and the self described Antrim Maradona, Oliver O'Callaghan was on hand to get in between the Davide, our imported Dub who hadn't put a foot wrong and Fergal who had been solid all evening to fist home an unlikely winner and rescue a well-deserved point for Liam-Kelly-less West. Special mention to Paul Hagan who won a heap of possession around the half forward line and Alan Rowan who really got going in the second half but Man of the Match has to go to Oliver O'Callaghan with the never-say-die attitude that earned his team the draw.
Leinster v. Munster was a scrappy affair with Munster edging it by just two points. Munster went in 5 points up at the break and looked like they were coasting. Collins hit some great points and Barrett seemed to be always in the right place at the back. Shane Griffin was keeping good tabs on Jim though and Leinster fought back gallantly with a great goal by Collie Byrne setting up a frantic final few minutes. With Leinster getting right back into it, up the field came Timmy with a fantastic goal that in the end killed off the Leinster comeback. Timmy was excellent for the 40 minutes and takes the Man of the Match.
* Editor’s note: the editor is from the Munster region. Make of it what you will.
