Garryowen FC Notes w.e. 07th Jan 2007

The larger than expected crowd who turned up for the Munster Senior Cup Final between traditional rivals Garryowen and Cork Con on Saturday last were not disappointed. Rarely will a game be contested with such fervor and sportsmanship and although we are delighted to have secured the Cup, only those present could have appreciated the closeness of the contest. The 18-13 score-line probably reflects the overall pattern but there were many who would have doubted our ability to carry the day after turning over a mere 8-3 in front. It was a first half of missed chances that put us in this precarious position and the boys from Temple Hill were in no mood to let the Cup go quietly. Conor Kilroy punctuated two try efforts with a penalty and while he may have been disappointed his own effort at a touchdown was ignored, he will have been relieved Mark Melbourne got the benefit of the doubt when reputedly losing control over the line. Still the try stood and it was no more than our hard working pack deserved. Conan Doyle was the key man in the lead up to the score and he has had few better days at this ground. Our back row was tremendous all through and none more so than Anthony Kavanagh who tackled ferociously around the fringes of the rucks and mauls. With Peter Malone and Paul Neville adding the extra muscle, the much vaunted visitors trio was never allowed to dominate. The second half lit up what was now becoming a gloomy afternoon. The lights came on and many of the crowd retreated to the quasi shelter of the stand. One would have to go a long way to see close on 40 players try their hearts out to win the day. Con reduced the deficit to 8-6 after 42 minutes and only then did we grab the game by the scruff of the neck. From the resultant kick off we carried play deep into the Con 22. Some tremendous pick and drives by Rory Brosnan, Damien Varley and Ed Mackey brought us closer and closer to the line. During this phase our pack showed admirable ball retention skills in the wet conditions to keep it alive long enough for Kevin Hartigan to squeeze through the cover on the blind side at the Hassetts Cross end. Eoghan Hickey, who like Conor Kilroy had been having difficulty with the foot radar, kicked a magnificent conversion from the touchline. Back came Con to fashion what can only be described as a classic try. Their innate sense of timing was displayed when having done the prep work deep inside our 22, Tom Gleeson came steaming through on an overlap to score near the posts. The easy conversion had the supporters applying teeth to nails and the respective club alickadoos doing parallel tours of the touch line at both sides of the ground. Who would summon the next score ?. There were some teak tough, but always fair, exchanges before Eoghan Hickey kicked a long range penalty into the wind in the 79^th minute. This was a Cup Final worthy to grace any era and many a light blue heart pounded in those agonizing few minutes. Deep into injury time Con elected to kick a penalty to the corner in search of that elusive try. That would have tied it at 18-18 and the conversion to come! To the relief of every light blue supporter, we managed to pinch the lineout and move the ball away from the danger area. A beautiful line kick by Gerry Hurley finally broke the back of the Con resistance and we ended the game inside their 22. While still a young team we have known the heartache of last minute defeats on a few occasions and the presentation of the trophy to Capt Paul Neville was greeted with as much relief as joy. There was plenty of time to celebrate this great win but any euphoria was well and truly worked out of the players system by Paul Cunningham at training on Tuesday night. The teams must do it all again, this time in the AIL in Dooradoyle on Saturday at 2.30. If the game is half as good as last Saturday’s we suggest you get there early. On Sunday our junior team plays Bruff in the NM Cup in Bruff at 2.30. A happy, healthy and prosperous 2007 to our supporters and indeed all club rugby supporters in the area.