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Letting it go has its downsides
THERE was quite a bit of chatter about the officiating of last Sunday’s All-Ireland Senior Championship final between Dingle and St Brigid’s, who fell to their second one-point defeat on All-Ireland final day in three years – a real sickener for themselves. A few very plausible shouts for Dingle fouls in extra-time were waved away – and while I love ‘letting the game flow’ and all that jazz, it made me think whether you can have too much of a good thing. Anyway I suppose it’s obvious I wanted St Brigid’s to win. Having said that, I’d still rather have a crack at scaling K2 than refereeing high-profile football matches.
It’s not a very glamorous schedule
KILDARE at home on Saturday, whoop-de-doo. Personally I’d rather a crack at Kerry or Dublin or whoever, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles and it was very unfortunate that Tyrone were relegated last year despite having accrued seven points across the campaign. But yeah, games can be a hard sell at this time of year. For one thing, you’re at the mercy of the elements. Omagh CBS’ MacRory Cup semi-final, initially penciled in for today (Thursday) was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch and unfortunately that’s what you’re dealing with at this time of year.
Saturday will tell a story
EVEN though a few key names are still injured for Tyrone, Malachy O’Rourke will reveal his hand against Kildare on the personnel front. The McKenna Cup was largely used for experimentation, and in that respect it did its job, but making it out of Division Two is an important target so expect to see Tyrone more or less at full pelt this Saturday night in Omagh. It’s a very winnable tie (to be honest they all are for the Red Hands in the second tier) and a victory would set the team in good stead for that looming away trip to Derry seven days later.
The pre-season comps are back
NOT that I have a really strong opinion on it, but it emerged the other day that the pre-season comps at club level (Jim Devlin Cup, Frank O’Neill Cup and Joe McGarrity Cup) are back for another year with a start date of March 15. It hasn’t been made mandatory for clubs to participate, interestingly enough, but hopefully everyone fields for the sake of the integrity of the competitions. The Jim Devlin Cup in particular has a lot of history behind it and a series of competitive fixtures should set all teams up well for the Leagues.
A busy weekend ahead
ITS not just the men’s footballers in action this weekend. The hurlers get their campaigns underway while the ladies start their Division Two campaign with a trip to Monaghan. One thing that’s a pity – and I know it doesn’t always make logistical sense – is that there aren’t more double headers that would bring out more of a crowd in support of the hurlers and ladies. Again this weekend the three are out at different venues on different days. Anyway, the very best of luck to them all and hopefully it’s a fruitful year ahead.
