Lux Claim 8th Home Title in Row

Writing a piece about a glorious victory is a lot easier than writing one about another defeat. Where to start. Probably just after 6am as we packed the final items into our bags and looked out at a magnificent May morning. I travelled with Alan Rowan, Caragh and new addition to their family Darragh. There's not too many people who would take on such a journey (both were playing) but fair play to them, they did so without drama.

The support of Colin and Conan in the organisation has helped a lot this year. Conan sends out a standard email in the days preceding the tournaments detailing everything from the draw, who will collect money, who will drive, what the directions are and even a precise weather forecast!! It works well which is obvious from how few questions/phone calls are received. One other part of this organisation is the task of delegating. After each tournament someone will 'volunteer' to wash the jerseys. Eoghan Kelly was the man given the task the last day but left Antwerp on Saturday morning without them, only realising when we were in the dressing room in Lux. This would have bothered me enormously in the past but Kelly is only a young buck, and it’s very out of character to make such an error.

Lux kindly helped out and dug out an old (last used sometimes in the 70's!) long sleeved set. Ideal for a blistering hot day. Possibly a tactic to undo us? They were fairly deadly though. Skin tight, they really showed our flawless physiques in all their glory.

The B's went into action first against Lux A. It was never going to be easy and a shortage of backs meant Conan had to be creative with his resources. Regular forwards Ruairi and Barry were given defensive chores. Because of the scheduling of games, we did not get to watch much of the B games. However, from what I saw, Pearce did well around the middle of the field, Matti was his usual bustling self and Adrian made some good saves. At times the lads moved the ball very well and very fast by hand. Lux struggled to win back possession and it is a positive sign going forward. Still, it was difficult to get the forwards enough possession to make an impact on the scoreboard and Lux ran out comfortable winners.

The A team took the field next against Amsterdam, whom we had not beaten all season! We started in lively fashion with Olof and Ciaran doing well up front. Defensively, myself, Paul and Colin were a bit shaky early on. Gearoid Sayers was making his usual bursts from wing back but we lost him to a hamstring injury late in the first half. As neither ourselves or the B's travelled with subs, we had to pull Martin from the B's to cover. We led at half time and when our defence tightened in the second half, we were able to withstand their onslaught to run out 4 point winners. The team had nice balance with Enda and Eoghan working hard around midfield and the forwards moving the ball nicely.

The B's experienced another tough outing against Den Haag A in their other group game. Again, details are sketchy and Conan has been away so no chance to give more. What i can comment on is the attitude of the B team. I know some may feel they should be given a chance with the A team but it does not affect their commitment on or off the pitch and they provide a good example. It’s a difficult period for them, trying to compete with 'Championship' sides in the Benelux section but hopefully they will survive the test and be ready for the Shield come July. Conan is working hard at getting a core group and its working well.

The A's played Lux B next and we switched around the team alot to try and conserve energy. Enda went to full back and I went to midfield. Olof went in full forward and Ciaran came to the wing. It may have been slightly disruptive but it had to be done. Ciaran goaled a couple of times but Lux hit back with goals of their own. In the end we won comfortably enough to top the group. In the other group, Den Haag beat Lux to win their group leaving the semi pairings Belgium v Lux and Den Haag v Amsterdam.

Lux looked to be considerably stronger than previous and were pumped to win their home tournament for the 8th year in a row! They started the sharper and caught us for some bad scores. Still, we settled and 0-4 to 0-3 down at half-time was not such a bad position. However, straight from the throw-in they went up field and goaled. We couldn’t claw it back and they deservedly beat us by 5 points. A lot of us were poor. I gave my man too much space and surrendered too much possession too easily. Same for others. Our support play wasn't up to scratch and we couldn't handle their strong running through the middle. It was disappointing but we could not complain.

If we are to take some positives from the day we could say Cluxton made some great saves in goal. Paul did well in his first tournament and Olof led the forwards well. Also, we cut out the b1tching and moaning and fellas stayed positive all day. I hope we continue with this attitude. Den Haag lost the other semi and refused to play the 3/4 playoff citing injuries! I'm not happy about this as i suspect they could have played the final if they qualified. Anyway, we are now in a position where we do not automatically qualify for the Championship section and need to rely on an invitation. Hopefully it will come as I expect us to get stronger as the year goes on and still hope we can mount a challenge.

There were the usual festivities that evening and many of us stayed on. Highlights would include being given the hurling cup (we could not stay to receive it two weeks ago), losing it, finding it again and then forgetting it in the bar! There was the education of the young buck by the old bucks. And of course, the dance-off as Aylward and Rochey went toe to toe in Biblyos. I’d say the Lux night club never saw the likes of the messing on the dance floor on Saturday night.