Minor shambles does nothing for Clare football

COMMENT

THE background to the non-playing of the Ennistymon v Clondegad minor A semi-final has resulted in hours of futile negotiations but no game.

Yet the people who have lost most are the minor footballers of both Clondegad and to a lesser extent Ennistymon. This debacle could have been avoided if a particle of foresight had been applied.
Clondegad informed Bórd na nÓg Peil in advance that they were not keen to play what was their first minor A semi-final on the same weekend as the club’s intermediate final against St Breckan’s. While they contacted the board well before the semi-final was due to take place, Bórd na nÓg Peil were still placed in a tricky situation. If the semi-final had been postponed, it couldn’t have been played the following weekend either as Ballyea, featuring many of the same players, were due to play their minor A hurling semi-final against Newmarket.
Therefore, Bórd na nÓg Peil decided to stick to their original decision and let the football fixture stand. Would it not have been feasible, however, to fix the minor football semi-final before the county intermediate final took place? That could have meant playing the minor game early on Saturday, October 16, followed by the intermediate final that afternoon in Miltown. Surely underage players should be allowed to prioritise their own age group? Instead, the minor semi-final was fixed for noon on Sunday, October 17.
Clondegad could have adopted a number of approaches to the situation they found themselves in. They could have fulfilled the fixture, albeit under protest or perhaps sought a later starting time. Instead, they didn’t turn up and now their players find that their year’s work has culminated in an off-the-field shambles, not of their [the players] making.
When these players reflect on their underage football careers in the years ahead, it is this fiasco and not what they achieved on the field, that will resonate.
The fact Ennistymon are preparing for their fourth successive minor A football final underlines the excellence of both their young footballers and the club’s underage structure. Just because a club might have a clutch of talented players, that does not always automatically mean they will win anything or compete at a high level. The youngsters need a cohesive structure in place, which will get the best out of them. With a minor and an U-21A title won in ’08 and ’10, Ennistymon are clearly one of Clare football’s emerging clubs. Yet, if they win their second minor title inside three seasons on Saturday, will their players not feel that something is missing?
Minor footballers don’t tend to specialise in boardroom politics. However, like all sports people, they want to win on the field of play. In fact, most of them would prefer to lose on the field rather than win off it. That said, Ennistymon are adamant that they have nothing to answer. Ironically, their campaign has been littered with incident, even excluding this wrangle. The result of a re-arranged game against Lissycasey, which was played in Ennistymon but outside of the four-day rule, was not accepted by Bórd na nÓg Peil. The result was only confirmed after Ennistymon took their case to the Disputes Resolution Authority (DRA) and had written support from Lissycasey. The case wasn’t subsequently heard because Ennistymon, who were returned their €1,000 fee, were retrospectively awarded the points by Bórd na nÓg Peil.
The result of Ennistymon’s game against Cooraclare was also the subject of dispute for a couple of days, when the referee informed both teams that in his view, the game was a draw. Ennistymon and Cooraclare were adamant that the former had won by a point. This was subsequently confirmed in the referee’s report in the days after the game. Furthermore, Ennistymon lost their first minor championship game to Éire Óg, who then proceeded to give several walkovers. Therefore, Ennistymon probably feel they have suffered sufficient slings and arrows for one year and don’t feel at a moral disadvantage to have qualified for the 2010 minor final, without having to win a semi-final.
Yet surely some compromise could have been arrived at between the Clondegad and Ennistymon club executives? Bórd na nÓg Peil and the senior county board both confirmed to The Clare Champion they would have re-fixed the game for Ennistymon if a date had been agreed by both clubs.
Now that Clondegad will definitely not have a tilt at the semi-final, it is very likely the club will seek to internally unearth how it came to this. Losing an intermediate final that they expected to win was bad enough but losing a minor semi-final, not having even played in it, is a worse fate. A year that promised so much championship-wise has rarely delivered so little.
Remember, Cratloe played a senior hurling semi-final before their minor football team played Clondegad on the same evening. Players who played in both games had less than an hour to travel between Cusack Park and Ballynacally. The day before Lissycasey played Miltown in the U-21A football semi-final, both clubs’ minor teams played championship matches.
Ironically, prior to the U-21A final, which Ennistymon won, their minor championship game against Cratloe, due to be played the day before the U-21 final, was delayed until the following Tuesday.
Fixtures tend to pile up for clubs who are successful and they just have to deal with it. The clear solution to the Ennistymon – Clondegad situation would have been to play that game the day before (Saturday) the intermediate final, which could have been played on the Sunday.
Anything would have been better than what has transpired.