Lansdowne 15 Clontarf 5, Ballycorus Rd. 28/03/2009

One Handed Gants

Upon reflection, I had no idea what to expect from Clontarf in this make or break 1st round cup match. What I failed to realise was that the quality of the opposition would ultimately be irrelevant.
This has been a season of steep learning curves for all of us on the Killer B's, new faces at the helm, new faces on the pitch.... most of us didnt know what a pillar was a year ago... for too long J4 sides have underperformed due to lack of preparation and direction, but that ghost was well and truly laid to rest on a windy saturday afternoon in March 09.
To say that the performance was complete would be a major understatement. To say that everybody played well would be selling it short. Make no mistake, this was one of the best performances from the Lansdowne J4's in my memory, which spans back 20 years at least.
Clontarf were very, very good. They had a strong backline and aggressive forwards, and they would have beaten you 2 months ago. And yet this until now unseen courage and ability raised to the top in perfect time. Perhaps it is no coincidence that the last 2 performances were victories against very good opposition, before that a stunning performance against Wesley..... we are on whats commonly known as a roll!
Chris 'look at my pretty face' Reid led from the front until he was cruelly cut down in his 'prime?' by an eye injury that left him looking like Bernard Dunne, or was that Ben Dunne... The Gahan brothers raped and pillaged all day long, monsuir Portier was the agent provocateur, Adam 'skinny £$%t' Kavanagh was a big girly, but played well until getting a pain in his ovaries, Nicky 'I need to stretch' Jones was all over the place, stretching, and the big men Moore and Harvey worked like carthorses all day. Brian McDermott's service to the backline was exemplary, Oisin and Gants tore the midfield up, Justin played well despite carrying a nasty knock that slowed him down a bit, and Keith 'Who's the Daddy?' Herman, despite suffering from sleep deprivation was safe as houses and constantly probing. Speedy Jeff had far and away his best performance in a Lansdowne jersey to date, Ross and Gearoid worked and ran all day long.
But it was the belief, the want, the desire for victory which was the outstanding feature of the day.... now we roll on to our old friends Barnhall. It is honours even this year gents, so who will take the prize?

An old wise man once offered me a drug that was more addictive than heroin, had a better high than cocaine, was completely free and had no side effects. I asked him what was the name of this super drug...
"Winning" he said.

Man of the Match: Eoin Gantly

written by Philip McGoldrick

match photos taken by Ed Bruce

Team

1: Gabriel Portier 2: Chris Reid 3: Brian Gahan 4: Paul Harvey 5: Robert Moore 6: Adam Kavanagh 7: Conor Gahan 8: Nick Jones 9: Brian McDermott 10: Oisin O'Cuinneagain 11: Rory Gavin 12: Eoin Gantly 13: Justin Comer 14: Gearoid Carvill 15: Keith Herman (c) Subs: Jeff Iszeham, Kevin McDermot, Millan Alonso, Ross Bloomfield and Micheal O'Halloran.