MARTIN CARNEY: Club football reminds us that the code still has a beauty

THERE are occasions when sporting moments lift the soul and rekindle your love with the code at a time when it has undergone a dramatic transformation in terms of preparation, style and application.

Gaelic football, as practiced by so many nowadays, has become slave to conservative, possession oriented football where kicking the ball – yes, kicking the ball – is the last option encouraged by coaches and those who are entrusted with maintaining the health and soul of the game. The endless sideline to sideline hand-passing orgies may guarantee ball retention and reflect well in post-match stats but for the onlooker they carry all the excitement of watching a tap drip.

Many games (not all, thankfully) have become occasions where fear of making mistakes by using the foot pass as the primary mode of transferring possession have become deeply embedded. ‘Modern’ football from bottom to top ought to be a better spectacle given the time and effort expended in preparation.

This crab-like modern-day feature was particularly noticeable in many inter-county games during the recent championship. The Ulster final was a particular case in point. Derry won that game, crowned champions after a lapse of 24 years, but not before subjecting a packed house to the most laboured form of something that was supposed to resemble football.

With all their players behind the ball – incidentally, Donegal were no better – we got a final that will go down in history as one of the codes greatest ever bore-fests. What was particularly disappointing is that both participating teams had players capable of breaking free from the rigid formulaic approach favoured by the respective managers. Yet, it wasn’t to be and no doubt the joy of winning relegated every other emotion to the margins for the victorious Derry team.

RIVALRY

Academy director Tom Reilly reminded me last week about the prospect of an impending high quality Under 19 league final between Castlebar Mitchels and Claremorris. Over the last few years both teams have cultivated a very healthy rivalry all the way through the underage ranks and he promised me the latest offering wouldn’t disappoint.

On a glorious evening in Hastings Insurance MacHale Park, both teams, true to their pedigree, participated in a most enjoyable and spectator-friendly final. All of the more memorable features of the game – high fielding, quality kicking, spectacular point-taking and man-to-man tussles – dominated the contest, with the result in doubt right up to the final whistle.

Castlebar did just about enough to earn their one-point win in a game that at one stage they looked to control comfortably. Yet under the baton of their coach Kenneth Mortimer, Claremorris stubbornly refused to yield and it took a late kick from the Mitchels' Eoghan Hughes to tilt the balance in their favour.

I am loath to go into mentioning names; safe to say, many from both sides did their jersey proud in a game where a rapt attendance showed their appreciation at the final whistle.

Helping and directing these lads to straddle the gap between underage and adult football is the task now facing both clubs. The raw material is there to work with, yet if experience has taught us anything we know that there aren’t guarantees that many will graduate to the next level.

Above anything, the time expected from participants nowadays exceeds what was demanded in past generations. Sacrifices are mandatory; parking much of one’s social life in order to devote time to the required strength and conditioning work, skill improvement and nutritional adjustments is something that many fail to realise and subsequently slip off the radar. Skills – the full package – are still essential but a player won’t survive on these alone in the big league.

FINALS

Sunday then took me to Ballina to watch the Division 1 and 3 league finals. After being part of a Mitchels intermediate management team that lost heavily to Bonniconlon, I was keen to see how they fared in the final with the dark horses Killala. Both teams had earned their right to play in next year’s Division 2 league on the basis of their semi-final wins so local pride and silverware awaited the winners.

To say Bonniconlon dominated is an understatement. Despite shooting numerous wides, they still displayed superior levels of organisation and know-how in overcoming a gallant Killala team. Indeed, were it not for a brace of opportunist second-quarter goals from Killala’s Alex Quinn, the game would have been done and dusted at the break.

From their impressive and vocal goalkeeper Daniel Devine all the way through a hard-working midfielder Richard McKenzie and into a particularly impressive half-forward line, Bonniconlon earned their plaudits on the back of a performance laced with industry and self-belief. From the evidence of the last two weeks, these north Mayo men will thrive in the championship and next year’s Division 2.

Speak of football in the county town just now and the topic will drift to the emergence of so many young players into adult football in the club. Both at intermediate and senior level, the fruits of the underage programmes are starting to blossom and Sunday’s win over Knockmore showed the surprisingly large attendance that there is something stirring again in the Mitchels.

Barry Moran’s charges started the game with pace and intent, and their eight-point lead after the opening 20 minutes was a fair reflection of their dominance.

Knockmore, admittedly short a few defenders, were slow to leave the stalls and handed an initiative to the Mitchels which should have been more pronounced on the scoreboard. Between the Mitchels failing to push on, Raymond Dempsey reminding his charges of their responsibilities and some wonderful defensive play inspired by Adam Naughton, Knockmore clawed their way back into the game. Mitchels prevailed after extra time but though there was a degree of blanket defending from both sides, enough of the free spirit and kicking the ball made for a compelling game.

In summary, club football in the last week reminded all fortunate to witness the games that the code still has a beauty; it allows it enough freedom of expression to help break free from the suffocating shackles that have imprisoned the game over the past decade – particularly at inter-county level.