Euro 7s Just Off Pace

I went home for the 7s a couple of weeks ago intent on enjoying the weekend whatever happened. I couldn't but feel a bit disappointed coming away from it though.

The weekend got off on a good note. Arriving at Dublin Airport shortly before 22h, I even treated myself to a taxi to the hotel. I was in with the Nordic duo Mal Kenna (Goteburg) and Niall Scullion (Stockholm). I knew Niall but not Mal - both turned out to be good company. Expecting the talkative Mr. Scullion to be one to ramble in his sleep, I had the ear plugs at hand. However, to my surprise, a silent night it was.

Shay has had us staying in the Louis Fitzgerald in Newlands Cross for the last two years. It’s handy to get to the pitches and they do a magnificent breakfast. We met up with the other lads in the hotel, Dec (Stockholm), Shay (Maastricht) and Corkman Michael Lynch (Malmo). The noon start meant we could relax and catch-up without any great rush.

At the pitch, we met up with the rest of the lads; Conor McGugh & Aireey Cleary (Guernsey), Danny Cravan & James Flavin (Hague) and Brian Stokes & Mark O'Kane (Stockhom). It’s always a tough situation to be thrown into, even more so having crossed swords just a week previous in Copenhagen.

Up first were St. Judes, big scorers in their first game and clearly well drilled in the nuances of the 7s game.

The first couple of minutes were a horror show. Straight from the throw in they fired a rocket in over my head. I barely had my gloves on!! I was pissed off because I would have definitely saved it later in the day but I was like a rabbit in the headlights for that one.

We settled thereafter and despite being totally out of sync with 7s tactics, we were managing to keep in touch. We'd lined up in nearly a 2-2-2 formation and it was killing us. The lads at the back were getting exposed continuously and they got a share of goals from balls over the top in 2v1 situations.

Through sheer endeavour we found ourselves leading by a point in the second half. We had a goal chance when I made my way into some traffic around their 20m line. The hand pass in was slightly over my head but catchable all the same. I didn't think I'd be afforded the time to pull it down and with Michael Lynch bearing down I looked to palm it into his path. If that comes off it looks fantastic. If it doesn't you look like a complete prick. I did a good job of impersonating the latter. Should. Know. Better.

Our defensive frailties caught up with us with the concession of a couple more goals and in the end we lost a lively shoot out 5-4 to 3-5. Bad start but considering how far we were away from playing a suitable system, it felt fixable.

Shay and Niall pulled us in and their reflections were on the ball. The system was adjusted and we had a quick turnaround to face Shercock of Cavan. We looked a different team as we battened down the hatches at the back and created plenty of chances up front. It still wasn't smooth though and we were struggling to turn possession into scores. Poor shot selection and slow movement of the ball into scoring positions meant we did not capitalise. I think the game finished something like 1-7 to 0-6.

Things were getting serious at this stage in the sense that even qualifying for the Shield was coming into some doubt. We would play Bredagh of Down in the third game. They're the home club of our very own Paddy Cassidy so I was eager to go home having thought them a lesson. It was looking good too for a long period. We were getting up a head of steam, lads were carrying out their roles effectively and the communication was up. Standing in goal I had the best view of it all and it was clear our understanding of the game was increasing.

We led from the off and by 4 points in the closing minutes. Inexplicably we managed to concede 1-1 in the last couple of minutes. The equalising point was particularly annoying. Down one end, Aireey was blatantly tripped - the referee waved away our protests with his standard response of, 'sure, ye're all at it'! - Bredagh broke and pointed from a free. We had a free with the last kick to win it but it was not to be. 1-7 to 1-7.

The score line against Shercock and Bredagh were uncharacteristically low for 7s. We had great discipline in defence but it also showed some attacking issues. Our interplay up there wasn't as smooth. Defending you can just park the bus which is pretty easy to do. However, when you attack, the team play comes into it more and the unfamiliarity was showing a bit which was natural.

Our final game of the group was a must win against a Wicklow team with a complicated name. Together with Bredagh we were all vying for a spot in the Shield. A tactical masterstroke saw us set-up camp in the top goal, in hope the other team would just agree to 'play as we are' giving us the hill and the wind in the opening half. It worked and all at once it clicked and we gave them a proper hiding - three goals in it in the end and third spot secured.

We hadn't played anyone that I felt had better footballers than us. Judes looked to be the best team in it and I reckon if we played them again we would have been more than up to it. We were ready for a serious tilt at the Shield.

The quarter-final was a game against a Limerick side. I think they were called Herbstown Hospital. The scores flowed and we headed for the semi.

There we would play O'Donnells of Belfast. We'd beaten them convincingly last year at the same stage but remembered well that they were a particularly mouthy and unsavoury bunch of Belfast lads. 0-5 to 0-1 at half-time - thank you very much. Their heads appeared gone and we looked sorted. Maybe that got in our heads and brought some complacency.

They goaled just after the break and it gave them a serious boost. We just imploded. It’s hard to put the finger on it. Even after the goal, their keeper pulled off two incredible saves which would have given us enough breathing space to close it out. After the second they stormed down to raise the green flag again. We were chasing the game, something you don't want to be doing in your sixth game of the day. They deserved their win after such a comeback but it was a bitter pill to swallow.

There in lies the disappointment. We had a serious team, plenty of assistance on the line too. It's an 'if' that isn't worth mentioning but I will - if we had some match practice, specifically 7s, together prior to the tournament, then we would give the Championship a serious rattle, never mind the Shield. That's impossible though so I guess the key is to have some consistency in the panel year on year with one or two fresh faces brought in. As one of the lads mentioned after, playing in the Maastricht 7s in August would be a big help too.

Overall it’s a great weekend if you go at it with the right attitude. We didn’t do as well as we would have liked at the football but we had good craic over the course of the weekend and it was good to get to know some of the lads, especially those from outside Benelux who you would not know so well.