7’s football. I’m growing to like it. We had a bad start in Dubai 2009 when the hosts gave us a lesson in the semi-final. We had a good team and high hopes but the nuances of the game were lost on us. Our opponents were hiding balls and playing keep ball, much to our frustration.
Then I went to Dublin last year for the Men’s 7’s in Judes. We learned as the day went on and our performances improved. In the end we bowed out to the Cork County Junior Champions, Glanworth, after a right ding dong battle.
A week later I was back for the Ladies 7’s and I was becoming more fond of the tactical side of the game. The girls put in some gutsy performances and we exited with our heads held high.
This year, Maastricht G.A.A. club decided to host a 7’s event alongside the Ladies Euro Championship round. With such a gap between the end of Benelux and the start of the Pan-Euros, it was a rare opportunity for football.
To an outsider, it’s hard to explain what Brussels is like in August. The city, well, the part of the city around the EU, literally empties. Restaurants and shops often close for the month. With so many involved (I hasten to use the word working) in the public sector, training numbers dive. We had +/- six in the week prior to the tournament.
Some urgent action was required so I re-launched my soccer career. It proved fruitful as I plucked 39 year old Enda from G.A.A. retirement. Evan, a friend of injury dropout Colm, joined up and on the eve of the tournament, a Kerry man called Micheal Duggan was on the blower to Colin saying he had just landed in Antwerp and was up for it. We had 10 and would need them all.
The format of the day was gruesome. We would play 6 group games and if all went to plan, a semi and final on top of that. The pre-match shaping suggested Lux, Amsterdam and The Hague looked strong. Maastricht, Dusseldorf and Munich would be the unknowns.
It was Maastricht up first and they were a combination of lads from different teams. We had a head start on the tactics front from our previous experiences and that gave us the edge. Lux came next and our disciplined defensive formation kept them at bay. Darragh struck the crucial penalty to separate the sides.
In what is a rarity in International G.A.A., we had a set of brothers on board; Colin and Tiernan Byrne. Tiernan has spent the last two summers working in Dev’s and I’m sure he will have enjoyed Saturday, topping his hard work with a sweetly struck point.
We played The Hague in the third game and had identified this as the toughest assignment. They led by 1-3 in the second half and we had a difficult decision to make. When you get a lead in 7’s, you can run the clock down by using your keeper as a spare man. We could burn energy chasing shadows or stand back, let them kill the clock and concede defeat. Looking at the bigger picture, we let them have the ball and didn’t even press in the closing minutes.
Next up was Munich and an atrocious run of individual errors saw us cough up a series of points in the first half. It was our worst performance of the day. We rallied in the second half but it was too little too late. Conor Mescall saw red for striking. It was a frustrating one as the guy was clearly blackguarding when he went down holding his head. He managed to drag himself off the field to have a good laugh about it on the sideline as a last ditch strike at goal struck the bottom of the post with the last kick of the game. We lost 0-5 to 0-3.
It put the pressure on as we faced undefeated Amsterdam next. Our objective now was to finish 2nd/3rd in the group and so avoid The Hague until the final. We conceded a goal early and then lost Tiernan to a nasty ankle injury. His loss, following on from Conor’s suspension, meant we had to do battle with just eight players. Battle we did though and Ger, Micheal, Evan and Co worked like dogs to get us back in the game. We pulled an unlikely win out of the bag to keep us on track.
Dusseldorf provided opposition for our last group game and they were probably the weakest team on the day. They saved their best for last though and we were unconvincing two point leaders at the interval. We pulled away in the second half and then quickly exited to see the final placings. Third meant a semi against second placed Amsterdam.
This fixture is beginning to cause Udson a few issues. He has recently moved to the Dutch capital and is training with the lads up there. However, he is committed to seeing out the rest of the season with us. His form on Saturday, combined with the fact he has a lot more training under his belt than most of our lads, puts him in a strong position in the selection stakes for the upcoming Belgium tournament.
Back to the semi and a carbon copy goal gave Amsterdam an early lead again. Their panel was bursting at the seams and their freshness was running our ragged legs into the ground. Somehow, we stayed in touch but when the ref indicated there was thirty seconds left and we were two points down, it looked like we’d be better off shortening the road. We pointed but all that Amsterdam had to do was to keep the ball.
We put the press on and it worked. Amsterdam lost composure momentarily and a wild clearance fell straight to Enda. He directed the ball towards Darragh who proceeded along the end line only to look like he lost possession and it had gone dead. The umpire ushered play to continue and the ball was in the back of the net moments later. The final whistle followed. Amsterdam were devastated. We were elated. It was a harsh end to their day as they were clearly better than us in that semi.
It was a true never say die performance out of us and came about through a collective determination. That was one of the most pleasing aspects of the day. Considering we nearly always have two teams, it creates a division in the panel. It means some of us never get to play together but there was no such division on Saturday. I saw the qualities of Conor in much closer proximity and Ger and Tiernan got on a lot more ball than they usually do. We had a clear system and everyone bought into it, which is something that we’ve struggled to do over the last few years.
Back to the final and our old friends The Hague. They were strong with some of their main sharpshooters in their ranks. We had the defensive set-up down to a tee but needed another attacking option up front, so we pushed Darragh a bit further up as there was no point in him providing me another option alongside Udson for the kick-outs. We went toe to toe for virtually the whole game.
Trailing by three points late on, I went for a point but took too much time over it and was blocked. Regaining possession, I took off along the end line. There was a possible appeal for a penalty but with the momentum, advantage was given. I’d been forced onto my left foot though and my goal attempt flew over the bar. It was our best and last chance.
There were no arguments with the result. We had maximised our potential on the day. Darragh reckoned we were probably 5/1 at the start so to get so close was satisfying. I was very happy going home and if the lads’ focus and discipline spreads to the others at training, we’ll hope to make the necessary improvements to challenge in the Shield and Championship this year.
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