Comeback Kids

Quite the comeback. Brussels is still shaking after the rattle it got from current and former Belgium G.A.A. players this weekend. The grand experiment was a resounding success.

There were two main things which could have made or broke this thing. One was if Friday descended into a chaotic session and the other was if the game was not competitive.

Friday night went off without incident. Despite the searing temperatures, we congregated in the sweat box that was The Old Oak. Fellas wandered in from work and from flights at various times. The buzz was in full evidence as lads caught up and others were introduced. The pints of water to pints of beer ratio was pretty much 1:1, everyone watching each other and not wanting to do anything that was going to give an opponent a head start the next day.

Brussels' weather is notoriously unpredictable but on Saturday the sun came out in full force. The temperature dial was edging towards 30 degrees as we arrived to watch the end of the Ladies in-house tussle.

Ross was manning the whistle in that game and also for the lads match, a heroic effort for someone so sensitive to the sun.

Played in four fifteen minute quarters, both teams started at full strength and it was the All-Stars who were full of early running. They were foiled by rustiness more than once as they kicked away the opportunity of gaining an early initiative. At the other end, we were much more efficient, tacking on a few scores and drawing frees. We led 1-4 to 0-1 at the break thanks to a mix-up in the square after a long delivery in which led to a goal.

For the second quarter we rolled out the Shield team and their fresh legs would see them maintain our leading at the interval.

The visitors had lost Rochey at this point with a pulled hamstring and we were coming to grips with their main attacking threat, Michael Hough. Tempers began to flare and there were a few slightly animated exchanges (mainly involving Udson) as we started to pull away entering the fourth quarter.

All day our opponent’s performance had been about more than making up the numbers. They tracked well and tackled hard all over the pitch. The game looked beyond them as they trailed by nine points entering the last few minutes. They needed something urgently and the self-proclaimed 'Antrim Maradona' delivered by plundering his much promised goal. Then Jonny O struck and suddenly there was a kick of a ball in it. However, time was up and it was just as well for us as the momentum was firmly in the hands of the All Stars. The final score read something like 3-8 to 3-11.

The girls had stayed on after their match and were joined by other friends and former players which enhanced the sense of occasion. We couldn't have got a better day for it and the game itself was more than worthwhile.

By half seven we had convened on a terrace down town with grand plans for an epic pub crawl. It was the only part of the weekend that didn't go to plan as we never managed to move again, finally getting thrown out sometime after 4am. After that everyone scattered, some for food, some for Celtica and others to bed.

On Sunday, there was a club BBQ arranged in de Valera's and despite the hangovers, we had another bumper attendance. Seventy people joined in for the food with plenty more piled in for the match.

I've avoided the chest beating hum drum as much as possible but the weekend was a solid stamp of approval for many things about the club. I mentioned on Friday how lads travelled from five countries to be here. Ricky is a great example. He worked a double shift on Friday, finishing around 11pm and getting the midnight bus from Clare to Dublin so he could catch the 06h50 Saturday morning flight. He stayed in the country a little more than 24hrs. A big pat on the back goes to Shane Griffen who rallied the troops so well.

The success of the weekend gives the whole thing credibility. There will certainly be a repeat and we'd hope that next year, more lads will get on board and we can turn it into a mini-tournament. That's for another day though. We need a few more just to recover from the weekend.