a bit of understandin goes a long way
Look lads,the fixture pile up is bad but you cant blame the AUL for once.Every team has been caught up in this and none of us wants to be playin games in June lookin at pre season a few weeks later.Grattan have 12 league games to play in about 6 weeks and every time the AUL have a game half their team is called up and they have no game,along with Leeside,Togher and a few others.Those clubs could pull out their players but they would then probably be suspended by the AUL.Its the FAI decided to play the Oscar Tryanor on Sunday (theirs 9 Dublin AUL players on the Irish squad by the way) knowin a lot of the players involved had to play a big game on Tuesday,do you honestly think they care about the AOH cup.
The MJC and the FAI,were the ones that threw a spanner in the works with regards to the use of the cross for the semis.The first team out playin at home was because thats how they ran with the previous semi finals this year in the rest of the cups and if they changed it especially for the AOH surely the teams who lost their semis would have a grumble.
JP'O Sullivan plays for his country on Saturday,his county on Sun and the semi of the AOH on Tue.Thats the price he and Grattan pay for success.Grattan have 5 players on AUL duty sunday,Coachford will have a tough league game on Saturday.They also they have a player on AUL duty. Grattan will have the upper hand because the majority of their players will have had a week off.JP will be on a high if he scores on Saturday against Scotland,god help the Dubs (Sunday)and Coachford (Tuesday) goin on his current form.
Re: Littleman a little understanding
I do understand your point regarding the winter and cancelled fixtures. I know alot of the things going on are outside the AUL's control, International, Oscar T cup etc...
But we have been rushed to play 5 games in a little over a week. We will be finished our season next Sunday while other teams in our division will have 4 or 5 games left to play...
Now that I've that off my chest I will say that the running of AUL is improving in the last few years and the overall standard throughout all the leagues has increased dramatically.
Aoh Semi Grattan 0 Coachford 1
:( A total shock for the Gratts.They were gutted at the final whistle because they thought this was their year and in truth this was probably their best chance and blew it.Coachford in all fairness did their job to a tee.They stoped Grattan from playin ball and were faster and more physcial in every area of the pitch.
They never let Grattan settle and for the most part were very happy to soak up Grattan pressure and attack on the break or from set peices.To be very honest this was a brutal game.No football played of any note.The ball spent more time in the air or in the ditch than on the ground.The referee did'nt help,he was like an off his face 16 year old at a rave the way he blew the whistle so much.The thing is that for all his blowin and the hard challanges that were flyin in I think their was only 2 bookins.Grattan had so much of the ball and did nothin with it that you could actually sense Coachford were goin to score.Grattan gave away stuipid pointless frees time after time.The only player who played well for Grattan was Shenkwin at center half,he played Coachford at their own game and took no prisioners.The goal came 5 mins from the end,another stuipid free by Grattan,a good cross and it looked like a combination of defender and Coachford player headin the ball at the same time,ball in the net and Coachford 1 up.Grattans lack of confidence was summed up in the last seconds of the game when they were awarded a free just outside the box slightly right of the right hand post.John Paul O'Sullivan,International,AUL striker and probably the best striker in the AUL for a fair few years had a look and swung his foot at it,,,,,,,,,,,and crossed it,why oh why instead of goin for goal only he will every know.If you cant raise you game for the semi of the AOH you dont deserve to be in the final,you only get out what you put in,Coachford put it in and the Gratts did'nt,fair result.
Congratulations to Coachford on reachin the final,but I must admit i feel sorry for the Gratts.Every game they have lost this season has been a massive one.The Mossie Linnane semi,the AOH semi,the last 16 of the MJC,and worst of all the Quater finals of the FAI.For a team to take those 4 defeats and try to push on to win the premier,i honestly dont know if they could recover from last nights defeat.That is a terrible pity as they have without doubt been the best junior club in Cork all season and the Cross would have been a better place this season if they had of grace its hallowed turf.
its all in what you make of it
I'd agree that kinsale were up for it,considerin the importance of the game you would expct nothin less.But they were physcially up for it,they did'nt want to play football with Grattan.Their center for forward spent his time clatterin and i mean clatterin anyone who came next to him.Indeed the Grattan player Goldsmith,who retaliated could have gone,but show me one player in the face of the kickin he recived from the kinsale players durin the incidient that wouldnt lose it.You must admit Kinsale are no angles and were lucky only to have one player sent off.
Grattan were not in the game because they were not allowed,everytime they got the ball on the deck which was hard considerin the conditions kinsale would give away a foul.How many fouls did John Paul O'Sullivan draw out of the Kinsale back four.A striker dos'nt have to get on the score sheet to play well,JP and the other center forward,Harry kept the Kinsale back line deep in their own half for most of the game.I said i was dissapointed with the Kinsale effort and the game in general.Grattan are a football side,i thought Kinsale were but what i have seen of Kinsale this year is a dissapointment.They are gettin old as a side.Their average age would be 30 i'd say,Grattans about 23.By no means were Grattan the far better side,just the better footballin side who carved out the better chances.The amount of corners conceided by Kinsale surley would show that they were on the back foot for much of the game,maybe happy to soak it up and attack on the break but no team can take so much pressure and hope to get away with it against the best junior side in the AUL.
By the way,the Grattan manager shouts at his players win,lose or draw.Thats just his way,always wants them to do better i guess.
