St. Josephs and Crossmaglen victorious
by Dan O'Neill
Congratulations to Crossmaglen on their St. Patrick's Day triumph in
the All-Ireland Club Football Final over Ballina.
Although I don't think it will bother Cross folk how their victory
was achieved, basic handling mistakes and passing errors coupled with
an ineffective short-passing game made for a very poor spectacle of
football.
Because of over-encouragement and coaching of the short game, many
clubs and county teams have lost the benefits of the long ball
tactic. This tactic would have undoubtedly suited Crossmaglen much
better by exploiting the wide open spaces with better balls into
their forwards.
other noticeable feature of the football final was Ballina's very
poor shooting. They missed countless opportunities to bury
Crossmaglen in the second half but failed to do so with some
disastrous misses in front of the posts. This poor quality of
shooting has been all too evident in recent National Football League
games as well.
St Michael's (Enniskillen) showed just how full forward lines can
thrive on long accurate balls into space in their very entertaining
victory over St Colmans (Newry) in the MacCrory Cup final.
At a time when all teams are leaving no stone unturned in getting
teams physically fit, perhaps more attention should be paid to
getting the white ball between the sticks.
It was particularly fitting that Cross captain, John McEntee scored
the winner late in the game.
Two years ago when they claimed the Andy Merrigan trophy for the
first time, McEntee suffered concussion during the first half against
Knockmore and remembered little about the final. I don't think he
will forget this game in a hurry.
St Josephs became Clare's third club side to win the All-Ireland Club
Hurling title in the past four years as they outclassed Rathenure of
Wexford to run in 12 point winners.
Lorcan Hassett gave notice to Clare manager Gerard Loughane of his
potential for a recall to the county squad after scoring 1.5, as the
banner county reigned supreme once again. And one suspects that it
will not be the only hurling trophy to find a home in the banner
county this year.
Sunday was a busy day for GAA action with a full fixture list in the
National Hurling League.
Galway's Eugene Cloonan showed true class in yet another breathtaking
display that saw him score three goals and five points in the
westerners 4.11- 0.12 victory over Dublin.
The Athenry corner forward, just 20-years-old, has now notched up
more than thirty points in Galway's three league games to date. This
win means that Galway maintain their 100% record in Division 1A and
look assured of a place in the knockout stages.
A late Alan Markham goal denied Antrim another shock league win at
Cusack Park on Saturday evening against Clare and lost them a chance
to join Galway at the top of Division 1A.
In the group's other game Offaly bounced back from defeats in their
opening two games with an impressive win over unbeaten Limerick in
Birr.
After defeats to Antrim and Galway, questions were being asked about
the All-Ireland champions, but they answered all their critics in
emphatic fashion running out easy winners in a 1.14-0.7 victory.
Tipperary went joint top of Division 1B after a 1.16-1.8 win over
Wexford.
Billed as Tipperary's first big test, the jury is still out on Nicky
English's new look team after they cruised past a miserable Wexford
in Thurles on Sunday. From the moment Eddie Tucker used the strong
wind to fire Tipp in front in the second minute, they were in total
control.
But while no doubt happy with the league points, there was still a
feeling that English, too, is still wondering just how good his side
really are as this turned out to be nothing more than another win
over second rate opposition.
Meanwhile, Kilkenny recorded their second victory of the league
campaign with a 1.16-1.12 win over Waterford at a packed Wash Park.
It is never easy to win a derby match in Waterford, and Kilkenny have
their full forward line to thank for this win - Carter, O'Shea and
Shefflin who accounted for 1.12 of their total, left the Decies
defence rattled.
In the final game of Division 1B Laois caused the biggest upset of
the day after a solid four point victory over visitors Cork at
Rathdowing.
A David Cuddy goal two minutes into the second half gave Laois the
lead for the first time in the game and set them up for a rare
victory over the Leesiders.
Laois' win over the reigning league champions is their second to date
and puts them in a three way tie for top spot in the division with
Kilkenny and Tipperary.
As regards this weeks NHL fixtures, I fancy Antrim and Clare to
defeat Dublin and Limerick respectively in Division 1A. While Kerry
haven't a hope in hell against Galway in the divisions other game.
In Division 1B, Cork will have a tough game against Waterford, but
home advantage for the Leesiders might see them through. Wexford
should overcome Down while Tipperary can prove that they are
All-Ireland material if they can overcome the Cats at Kilkenny.
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