The Full Hospital Pass piece
http://www.hospitalpass.net/pats/index.html
Dermot has censored (edited) my piece on Friday night about Ollie, here's the full version. Only the intro was left out...
[if it not allowed on hospitalpass probably not good to sya it hear either] pete
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I know Hospital Pass isn’t meant to have match reports but this week for St Pats we can’t talk about anything but Friday Night and Shels in Richmond. Ok so here’s a couple of indisputable facts (mainly for legal issues) re Friday night. 1) A Shelbourne official did make gestures to the St. Pats crowd both before his team scored and after. 2) At the end of the game the same Shelbourne director did strike a St Pats fan 3) A Shelbourne player did strike a St Pats fan. I would like Hospital Pass readers to know that all the above is true, and would like to inform the editors that as it is true, and was witnessed by thousands, it is safe to publish these facts. Now on to the rest of the night…
The finish to Friday’s tie has shot instantly into the top five St Pats moments ever (and by ever I mean since 1987 when I started going to games) It had to be that way, it had to be a Martin Russell free kick and a Paul Osam header. I love Set pieces
The match itself was not the classic some called it. In fact I thought it was terrible as for the fifth game in a row we didn’t play the football European exploits showed we can play. Shels looked stronger than last week without really threatening. Just after 30 minutes Ger McCarthy does what he does best and got fouled for a penalty, it was a clear penalty, despite what a high ranking Shels official claims. Martin Russell blasted the ball home. The game was very scrappy both sides of half time and nobody looked like scoring. Paul Marney who had started poorly was now the best player on the pitch and had shackled both Richie Baker and Ollie Cahill.
With two minutes to go, Baker (I think!), who had switched sides constantly, turned up on the left to put in a dangerous cross that Byrne managed to steer home. Cue Shels 200 fans bouncing around. Watching them was sickening enough before my mates pointing out the directors box. If it isn’t our old friend “giving it socks” to the Pats fans around him, both in the directors box and outside. If I had been neutral I would’ve thought it funny, but I’m not neutral and I hate the man. I mean totally despise the man.
[don't think wise to say that either] pete
This is a man who attacked Derry City supporters who dared to question the motives for Peter Hutton signing for Shels. This is a man who was involved in an altercation which ended with a St Pats official falling down stairs in Tolka Park (took ages to word that correctly…) This is a man who will tell everyone who listens hat he wants to Shelbourne to be part of the proposed “Atlantic League” (despite some Shels fans’ claim that Gary Browne was the driving force behind this) and in my opinion couldn’t give a flying F*** about the National League. I despise Ollie Byrne. I have always despised Ollie Byrne. Last year’s registration fiasco was not the beginning of my hatred for the man, it merely reinforced my views.
As Shels were celebrating, lead by their general Secretary, we got one of the many free kicks our nippy strikers get. Martin Russell, the best striker of a ball in the country, stepped up and floated a ball in. I’m not sure what happened but it ended up going in. The entire Pats team ran to directors box to celebrate. In Nick Hornby’s “fever Pitch” he writes about a feeling he gets sometime when Arsenal score. He starts to feel dizzy and feint and unsure as to where he is. I felt something lkike this on Friday night, after leaping about 6 feet in the air, I started to feel really dizzy. I thought I was going to collapse. I stopped screaming, and looked around. Over 4,000 people were jumping up and down, screaming and feeling exactly how I felt. Unlike Hornby I knew exactly where I was and I loved it!
PS: To the Shels correspondent who laughed at the “e Section” song “Always look on the Southside for ****” Pats fans have been singing that song (with Northside inserted obviously) for about 8 years now, think of something original please. And you obviously have no sense of history about your club, having been formed in Ringsend and up until 1989 playing in Harold’s Cross. Or has ollie not told you about that.
PPS: This cup victory is dedicated to Gerry Perry and his extra time in 1998, I’ll never forgive you for finding 8 minutes. NEVER!
