Club Football Final..Crossmaglen Rangers V Garrycastle.

"David versus Goliath" best encapsulates the pairing at the club final this weekend. Crossmaglen, veterans on these occasions, are warm favourites with the already cash rich bookmakers to annex a sixth title against final debutants Garrycastle who carry the flag for Leinster.

Crossmaglen: There isn't a lot we don't already know about them, experience, steely determination, guile and the explosive scoring threat of relative newcomer Jamie Clarke about sums them up. The loss of Steven Kernan isn't a mortal blow to them, not in the way one of the Dolans might affect Garrycastle. The 3 other Kernans, Cunningham, Hanratty, Morgan, McConville and the aforementioned Clarke, apart from others unmentioned, all possess the qualities required for this occasion.
It's an occasion for nerve and patience, good sideline management and an ability to take the most of your chances.

Garrycastle: They are in their 30th. season and have been impressive over the past 5/6 years. Dessie Dolan is their leading light and when on song is a joy to watch. Don't be fooled with the "in-experienced" tag here though. The 3 Dolans, Mulvihill, Henson, Gaffey, O'Shaughnessy and O'Donoghue have all worn the maroon of Westmeath on big days and the return of Rory McGowan and the fitness of Tom McHugh are all plus points.
Their problem could be the build up, hoopla that attaches itself to the occasion. Anthony Cunningham is a shrewd operator, but these events in small places, unused to such occasions, can get to everybody.

Boxty's verdict: Crossmaglen by 5.

Cross -4 are 11/10 with Boylesports btw.

A great game, marred by the old culprit, dodgy refeering. Hickey certainly didn't do Crossmaglen any favours in the last quarter and after Clarke had hit the post twice in 5 seconds, the full back Gaffey handled on the ground in the small square.
Garrycastle were exceptional to forge a 2 point lead again after Cross had drawn level and to be fair to them their better known players, O'Shaughnessy excluded, stepped up to the plate.
Cross, as ever Dracula-esque, aren't fully dead until the stake is through their hearts. In their darkest moments Clarke, McConville Aaron and Tony Kernan kept their heads, bullied and cajoled and kept the ship afloat.

Aaron Kernan was my MOTM and you can but admire Garrycastle. Has their ship sailed?..Maybe not.

Cant say who will win the replay. You cant help but think that Cross toyed with Garrycastle in the first half because they always seem to dominate in the second half. Cross lacked that venom they have previously shown in recent games with Clarke having an off day as did Oisin.

Garrycastle really did dominate cross in the physical battle, they hit hard and punished cross when they made mistakes in the first half. They could be without McHugh and the #10 who hedbutted McKeown. Wouldn't be suprised to see Cunningham being disciplined for barging the Garrycastle player over the barrier. Cross however should have their captain back and Stephen is a very useful player and was missed greatly today.

Wouldn't know who to pick for the replay, Cross could well have the measure of them now but Garrycastle have the physicality to dictate play.

Dessie Dolan - genius.

GAA-Fan wrote:Cant say who will win the replay. You cant help but think that Cross toyed with Garrycastle in the first half because they always seem to dominate in the second half. Cross lacked that venom they have previously shown in recent games with Clarke having an off day as did Oisin.

I thought Clarke was superb actually GF. They opened up using the diagonal ball to great effect and he was instrumental in creating a lot of early scores. Perhaps you're more accustomed to his levels of ability I am, but without his constant darts here and there Cross were very stale up front. Hence my nomination of Aaron Kernan as MOTM as he constantly provided the lung bursting surges to supplement the front 6 and chipped in with a couple of scores.
McConville has lost the pace and physicality of yore (understandable) but retains the winning mentality. He kicked a couple of fine points all the same when it mattered most.

Oisin was ok today thought at times he was quiet but what do you expect at his age (hitting 37) but I agree he was instrumental. The other old guy today Dessie Dolan was very good I thought but he was marked out of the game in second half. Perhaps Cross dont do urgency but they just didnt seem like they could find that extra gear.

I personally think that Jamie Clarke was not at his best either, he did show patches of good play but was nowhere near his best. Any other day he probably would have tormented the Garrycastle defence. In the second half he just weaved his way through the defenders eventually being fouled just outside the box. Overall Cross weren't at there best but can't say much for Garrycastle, if the first half was their best performance I think they will need to put it upto cross for the entire 60 minutes if they want to win the replay. Stephen Kernan should be back for the next game and he is a very useful player for Crossmaglen and they really did miss him today.

It was a tense final and one of the best I have seen in recent years. The draw was a fair result, and best of luck to both teams for the replay.

"The other old guy Dessie Dolan"......Is DD 30 yet..

Boxtyeater wrote:"The other old guy Dessie Dolan"......Is DD 30 yet..

I thought he was 33

I'd doubt it GF....wiki doesn't help. Possibly over 30 but 33 looks like a Mossbag tip..Here's from today's IT..

Some amusing quotes from Dessie Dolan Sr in this piece with Malachy Clerkin the The Irish Times today:

Dolan made for days like this
An All-Ireland final is the perfect setting for Garrycastle’s star to show his true class, writes MALACHY CLERKIN

The week before the All- Ireland semi-final against St Brigid’s, the two Dessie Dolans – junior and senior – went to see Prof Conor Burke, an expert in respiratory medicine.

They didn’t tell too many people about it but things were bad at the time and it was looking close to certain that Dessie jnr would have to sit out the biggest game in Garrycastle’s history. An infection in his tonsils had found its way into his chest and as far as Prof Burke saw it, there was no likelihood of an improvement inside three weeks.

So training was out. And, in any other circumstances, a game would have been out as well. But missing it wasn’t an option Dessie jnr seriously considered. Not their first All-Ireland semi-final. Not against his cousins from across the river. All it would mean would be that he couldn’t go chasing hither and yon around the pitch and that he’d have to make it count every time he got on the ball.

So instead of training, he and his father did what they’ve done as far back as they can remember. They took a bag of balls to the rugby pitch beside their house and went through their shooting drill. Six balls in a set – left, middle and right at both ends of the pitch. Dessie snr feeding, Dessie jnr collecting, turning and shooting. Thirty-six shots and then they were done.

Come the Saturday, he not only started and finished the game but he kicked seven points along the way, five of them from frees. He operated on the fringes of the afternoon but still ended it the top scorer. For the father who has watched just about every kick of his career, it was lovely to realise the boy could still surprise him.

“He couldn’t breathe,” says Dessie snr now, shaking his head. “How he played the game is beyond me. I have no idea how he did it. He was very ill and he was still white in the face a fortnight after it. He wasn’t well at all.”

Today, as Garrycastle try to find safe passage through the Crossmaglen jungle, Dessie snr will look on from the stand. Although he and Irene are at every training session and every game, he’s a spectator now and no more. “If they ever want a hand, I give them a hand,” he says.

Which is how it all started in the first place. When Dessie jnr and Gary were playing under-12, their coach Pat Devlin dragooned Dessie snr into taking a session. That one session turned into nine years, Garrycastle’s underage teams bouncing from title to title like frogs over lilypads along the way.

“I always got on very well with dad when he came in to coach us,” smiles Dessie jnr. “Training was always very good and very enjoyable. Pat Devlin used to bring cans of Coke and packets of biscuits from his job. It was like an incentive to come to training. As soon as training was over at half-eleven on a Saturday morning, it was race to the boot of Pat’s car and we’d all be killing each other to get there first.”

“I would have carried that forward to intercounty,” says Dessie snr, “only I’d have been afraid some of the boys would be looking for cans of something a bit heavier than Coke!”

Once they reached senior, the older Dolan left them at it. “I felt myself that they’d be better off if I was away from them. Players need a fresh voice. If I’m talking to you for 10 years, telling you what to do, you’ll get pissed off. I mean, you could get married to the most beautiful woman in the world but you’ll eventually get pissed off listening to her as well. That’s the reality of it.”

He went away and coached teams here and there of every stripe at every level. Some of the best times he had were at Shannonbridge in Offaly, the club of a shooting buddy of his who’d been bugging him to train them. When he went there, he found them training on a 40-yard square piece of waste ground belonging to the ESB. When they did eventually get themselves a pitch, it was L-shaped.

“No joke! It was two oul’ fields at right angles to each other with the ditch taken out. You had to turn the corner to score a goal! Ah, they were priceless people altogether. I was there for three years and we went from junior to senior football in that time.”

In Garrycastle, his boys were thriving. The club was 30 years old the year of its first county title in 2001 and yet they followed it up with five more over the next decade. One year borrowed the next and the main body of the side pretty much stayed the same. Of that original 2001 team, 10 remained in situ for the sixth title in 2011. Sit down with a teamsheet and you can still trace a fair chunk of it back to the boot of Pat Devlin’s car all those years ago.

“I’m playing with some of these lads since we were six years of age in the street leagues,” says Dessie jnr. “All the way up along we would have thought we were fairly good. We’d see teams that were doing well and think that we would fancy our chances against them. But once you get into playing in Leinster, you’re up against really top-class opposition.

“Leinster’s difficult, you know? We came up against Kilmacud Crokes a few times and Portlaoise too. These are strong outfits. But we always knew we were a decent team and that we were close up to the mark.”

Win, lose or draw, Dessie snr was always there. And when there was no football they knew where to find him. He was shooting or fishing, one or the other depending on the calendar.

“The boys and I fish together and shoot together the whole time,” he says. “We’re best friends really. They’re like brothers to me rather than sons.

“We’ve a very good relationship. I’ll be out on Lough Ree and they’ll come and join me in the boat when they’re finished work or if they don’t have training.”

There might be even more time for it after today. Dessie jnr hasn’t committed himself to another year with Westmeath yet and didn’t seem especially keen on the idea when we talked. Nothing exists beyond today and Crossmaglen. Both men know there’s very few holding a candle for them this afternoon and neither has any great problem with it. If nothing else, they’re used to it.

“You have the incentive of people writing you off,” says Dessie jnr. “But at the same time, we have deserved to be underdogs a lot of the time. The teams we’re going in against are serious sides. Any team that comes from Dublin has to be strong. St Brigid’s of Roscommon were in the All- Ireland final last year.

“Crossmaglen are Crossmaglen. We’re total underdogs and that’s fair enough. You can’t argue with it. We can’t be bulling and going, ‘It’s our first ever final but we should be favourites.’ It doesn’t work like that.”

Usually, if there’s bulling to be done, the father will oblige. What say you, Mr D? “Look, we’re probably 4 to 1 or 5 to 1 going up against them,” he says. “And they’re supposed to have the best man-marker in the country going up against Dessie. Fair enough. But I have yet to see a team mark him out of a game, no matter who plays on him.”

So speaks a man who’s been watching him all his life. He’s been watching them all.

I suppose you are correct Boxty, he played for u-21 in 1999 even if he was 21 then, he would be around 30/31 now.

Boxtyeater wrote:Hickey certainly didn't do Crossmaglen any favours in the last quarter and after Clarke had hit the post twice in 5 seconds, the full back Gaffey handled on the ground in the small square.

I can see Tyrone lads having flashbacks here ......

Good game but I think GC have left it behind them. Ref was poor alright. Gave some frees too easy and didn't at other times when lads were getting walloped. Frustrating for all.

Parouisa wrote:

Boxtyeater wrote:Hickey certainly didn't do Crossmaglen any favours in the last quarter and after Clarke had hit the post twice in 5 seconds, the full back Gaffey handled on the ground in the small square.

I can see Tyrone lads having flashbacks here ......

Good game but I think GC have left it behind them. Ref was poor alright. Gave some frees too easy and didn't at other times when lads were getting walloped. Frustrating for all.

Honestly like fook off, GC left it behind them, the team who had the chances three in fact when it mattered didnt take them and that was cross, the ref was poor? seriously like? Jamie clarke with his jersey ripped at the neck while trying to get one on one with the keeper not even getting a free is not poor its a bloody disgrace not to mention the GC player throwing the head in the first ten minutes who should have also walked.

Cross'll be "hard bet" ...Original prediction stands, Cross by 5.

Think this might be the last we see of Oisin and what a fantastic performance to go out on.

Top drawer performance all right GF. Arrived at the right spot at the right time to loft over a few beauties. Worked hard for 50 mins.
Garrycastle looked like lads that had been in Tenerife for the week, getting home yesterday.

Aaron Kernan is a top class performer just the same.....

Can't see Aaron returning next week, could be wrong. XMG are a machine, there are no weak links, its a shame that we dont see this in the Armagh Co team setup. If Cross are capable of beating what is considered the 2nd best team in Ireland by 15 points who is going to stop them next year, the club football is ruining Armagh Co football.

Spread was 3 points this morning
Cool calm dry still eveing in Breffni

20/20 hindsight

GAA-Fan wrote:Can't see Aaron returning next week, could be wrong. XMG are a machine, there are no weak links, its a shame that we dont see this in the Armagh Co team setup. If Cross are capable of beating what is considered the 2nd best team in Ireland by 15 points who is going to stop them next year, the club football is ruining Armagh Co football.

There are, as a neutral, very few plus points anyone can take from this club final. Garrycastle, for all their size, faded dramatically in confrontational ball-winning situations. Cross, as they do, spotted the weakness and drove on. Their innate cuteness delivered balls into space, where the likes of Clarke, McConville or the Kernans inevitably found the runner ie. Hanratty, today....

I was once, and for many years, an admirer of Crossmaglen, but no longer. They are attempting a take-over of club football, grinding out results, un-compromising attitudes (vis-a-vis today's card call) and becoming akin' to Clare hurlers in the late 90's...

Boxtyeater wrote:

GAA-Fan wrote:Can't see Aaron returning next week, could be wrong. XMG are a machine, there are no weak links, its a shame that we dont see this in the Armagh Co team setup. If Cross are capable of beating what is considered the 2nd best team in Ireland by 15 points who is going to stop them next year, the club football is ruining Armagh Co football.

There are, as a neutral, very few plus points anyone can take from this club final. Garrycastle, for all their size, faded dramatically in confrontational ball-winning situations. Cross, as they do, spotted the weakness and drove on. Their innate cuteness delivered balls into space, where the likes of Clarke, McConville or the Kernans inevitably found the runner ie. Hanratty, today....

I was once, and for many years, an admirer of Crossmaglen, but no longer. They are attempting a take-over of club football, grinding out results, un-compromising attitudes (vis-a-vis today's card call) and becoming akin' to Clare hurlers in the late 90's...

Armagh teams have been suffering losses to Crossmaglen every year for the last 15 years. From what I have seen this year Crossmaglen are very strong and in my opinion are much better than the previous teams. Although I can't see them winning a third consecutive title. Was very impressed with McKenna today he was back in the HB line, winning ball in mf and setting up scores for Oisin and Jamie.

Can't see them letting up until they have secured the national title record and it is only a matter of time before they become the best club team in history.

Made a monumental burst with about 8 to go....Brushed away invaders and clearly (the ref ignored it) flung the ball..

about 5 minutes before the game started i said to the Mrs that Cross would probably win by at least 10 points if only i'd gone and invested a few pound with good old Paddy Power!!!!

They were totally awesome today and had obviously learnt more from the drawn game than their opponents. The wide open spaces afforded to the Armagh forwards and the men coming through was unbelievable for an All Ireland final. There were any amount of star performers for Cross but my man of the match would have been their number 2 Morgan i think he is, hes a man marker and as brave as a lion.

Surprised at Boxtys reaction given the fact that Garrycastle were no angels, you only have to look at the schite they were at during the parade to see what their intentions were. I hope its not more anti Northern bias Boxty!!!!!!

You get one crack at favourites and if you dont put them away the first day you usually suffer the second time.

Analyse Bocerty's post in it's fullness in the "Thinly Veiled Scenario"

I'd have backed Crossmaglen -14..

I'd have backed Crossmaglen -5/6 yellows...

If this is to be a true GAA forum, their cynical, intermittent, inter-personal handling of Dessie Dolan is, or should be, deniable...

GC tried to rough up a battle hardened experienced highly able team, they paid the price for doing so.

Cross took most of the yellows yesterday and GC walked free several times from off the balls incidents, I thought the GC attitude was stinking and a terrible shame because when they did play they looked good and played good football.

North Side Gael wrote:GC tried to rough up a battle hardened experienced highly able team, they paid the price for doing so.

Cross took most of the yellows yesterday and GC walked free several times from off the balls incidents, I thought the GC attitude was stinking and a terrible shame because when they did play they looked good and played good football.

i blame the others