I closed Part 4 of this series with the national anthem of relegation strugglers the world over (and escaped POW’s).
But to use a phrase you’d often hear in the glory days of pay-per view wrestling in the late 90’s…..
CUT THE MUSIC!
When looking at the fixtures ahead of us and our rivals last January, I realised that we would be needing some favours elsewhere. Cancellations and rescheduling had placed the 2nd of our last 5 games against our closest rivals for relegation. And by that time we had a much clearer picture of the relegation battle. Of course, nothing short of a win would do and we duly delivered but the benefit of the long fixture lay-off left our rivals, either side of us in 9th, with only one game in hand. We had four point advantage over Mervue United B at the bottom, while the gap between ourselves and East United in 8th was just a single point. Their games in hand were played a week after our 5-2 victory, our catalyst for survival.
Anyways, I logged onto the Galway FA website to see how the games got on. I expected them both to lose, they were against the top two respectively. The first thing you see on the website after selecting your division is the league table, followed by results/fixtures. I tend to avoid looking at the table first and scroll down for the latest results. However, a figure stood out even as I quickly scrolled down.
-70.
It sprung out and could only have positive meaning. At least that was what I thought. I scrolled down to see the latest updates. And again, I was startled at what I saw. 8th placed East United, had lost 18-0 to top of the table, Salthill Devon. Their woeful goal difference was now beyond saving. The other game saw the last placed Mervue United B lose 2-1 to 2nd placed West United. That doesn’t sound so bad, I thought, until I heard later that they had 4 players sent off. Without kicking a ball, it felt like we’d got another shot in the arm in the race for survival.
The picture was clear with 3 games each to play. Provided East United lost all their remaining fixtures, we would need just a solitary point from our last 3 games. In that scenario, Mervue would need 5 points from their final 3 games and for us to fall apart. Unfortunately for them, their final three games was against teams 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in the table. East United meanwhile had three away fixtures to contend with. The last of these would be against 7th placed Kinvara United, slowly getting sucked into the drama below on 13 points. We still had work to do however, but this was a picture anyone involved with the club could smile at.
The first of our final three games was away to Knocknacarra. This was a game I had long singled out for a result of some sort. The corresponding fixture last October had ended in a 4-3 victory for them. A game we should at least got a draw out of, never mind win! Their fourth goal was a 2 on 1 break where their striker rounded the keeper and slotted it home. I dived desperately to keep it out but was inches away. Had I timed it better, I would have got something on it and maybe keep it out. It was an agonising loss, all the more so given our results since then. When looking at the return fixture, I targeted a win, and nothing less.
Unfortunately, our training remained non-existent. One of our players even made a joke about it at the end of our last game. My fitness was no longer a major issue as I had been training for nearly 2 months consistently in GAA. That being said, individual fitness would count for nothing if the team was consistently making mistakes and chasing after lost causes. Yet, there seems to be an acceptance to see out the season without any training, despite our predicament. If we could pull out results like our last game, then it won’t matter. However, we won’t be playing teams as bad as East United for the rest of the season.
4 weeks passed between the two fixtures, a week more than scheduled. This was on account of a bereavement on the team. When starting this series, the league was supposed to be finished in mid-March. Now we’re not expected to finish until the start of May. The only benefit of this is that it has allowed me to get fitter, and possibly removing the backlog of fixtures. Still though, it would have been nice to get out again the week straight after our victory. For once however, we had an entirely valid reason. The grandfather of two lads on the team had passed away and was only right we pay our respects. Some things are much more important than Junior Football.
Spirits were reasonably good on the day. Another debate sparked between our two potential reserve goalkeepers. Our first choice was unavailable. Always hard to know if they are being serious or not about the dilemma but it always makes for a good laugh. We had 14 travelling up to Galway for the game, which is as good as it can get for us. Last away match we had, we had 10, plus three others recruited out of nowhere. Only one of them has stuck around. And he tends to run himself into the ground before half-time. Still though, I thought we had a good selection to choose from and as it happened, I was on the sideline. I didn’t mind. Three points was all I cared about now. And I genuinely thought we would get it.
However, what happened over the next 90 minutes was nothing short of a complete exposure of our shortcomings. We were comprehensively outplayed for the entire game. I thought it was just a slow start at first, but in reality, our lack of training and familiarity with each other was there to see out on the pitch. Individual mistakes, no organisation, not reacting quick enough to breaking ball, I could go on. Our opponents may not be the best team in the league but they are a team. They could play one touch football and not look like idiots. The fitness of some of our lads was in question but most of us were OK. Yet, as I outlined earlier, that fitness was counting for nothing as we gave away the ball time and time again.
Despite that however, we managed to take the lead. Our long ball upfield broke to our striker, who not only was suffering from flu but was one of the lads who buried his grandfather that week, and he rounded the keeper. He almost took one touch too many and pput it wide but managed to slot it home. It was not quite a miracle but definitely against the run of play. Minutes later however, Knocknacarra equalised from a corner. Moments after that, they rounded the keeper only for our veteran centre back to make a miraculous goal line clearance. Half-time couldn’t come quick enough.
I stayed away from the team talk at half-time to pass the ball around. My right hamstring had been giving me trouble for some time now, on account of wearing a knee support on the same leg. I am always trying to see if it is too much to stop me from playing and rarely never is. Warm-ups however are always pain in the hole! If I could get some rhythm going it wouldn’t be a problem. I felt I would be coming on at some stage but that could be at any moment. I was trying to make sure I was ready. Hoping that half-time was the reprieve we were hoping for, our lads lined up again for the second half. I went inside to the dressing room behind the pitch to leave behind a top, as the weather had improved significantly over the half.
As I walked back out to the pitch, our goal was under siege again. Now it seemed we were hanging on for dear life. The final pass or shot always just went away from our opponents as we scampered back in desperation. At the other end, we struggled to put passes together and create anything. There was one chance, an audacious attempt from the end line as our striker tried to curl the ball over the keeper and in. He almost got it. Other than that, it was all Knocknacarra. They hit the post, forced rebounds, forced our reserve keepers in saves, forced our full back to inadvertently strike at his own goal, thus forcing our goalkeeper into a remarkable save. Then another long ball upfield saw us take the lead again. This time our striker chipped the ball, and it hung in the air for what semed like an eternity. Yet it bounced up into the top corner. Cue celebration and laughter, utter disbelief really. I remarked to one lad on the sideline that this could be the greatest daylight robbery in history
In reality however, there were 20 minutes left. Being under siege made it felt like a lot more. Now some lads were feeling the effects of a battle. One sub was made, and I expected two more to be made before full-time. Chance after chance came, the territory was all in their favour, and an equaliser did come. It was a sliced cross that looped over our goalkeeper to make it 2-2. It was a fluke of a goal but on the balance of play, no more than they deserved. At this point, I entered the game as one of our players got injured and was playing on one leg. Some positional changes would see me go right back, but with our right midfielder now injured, I pushed on to the unfamiliar role of right midfield and started running myself into the ground. I could see why lads were out on their feet almost immediately as I chased lost causes.
With the game level at 2-2 and less than 10 minutes to go, the goal now was to hold on. A point would still see us out of the relegation places for the first time in a very long time. But the onslaught continued. On a counter attack, they created a two on two as I chased behind, a goalmouth scramble ensued and the ball to fell to one of them to make it 3-2. It was along time coming, but to be on the pitch when it happened was sickening to say the least. We tried in vain to get an equaliser of our own but it was too late. Although we were completely outplayed, we felt like we left points behind us.
Now we are left with two games to play, one week after another at the end of April. Furthermore we now need four points instead of one. East United, after conceding one game and losing their next 7-0, managed to defeat Kinvara Utd 5-3 to secure their safety. It was another devastating blow for our survival hopes. Now we need two results in our final two games and hope Kinvara lose their last game. We are bboth playing the same time in our final games. Oranmore-Maree. They are a good team, but they have nothing to play for. Their last game was a 0-0 against Mervue United, which all but confirmed their relegation to Division 2 for next season. Even if we were to get two results, theres a chance that Kinvara could get enough themselves to survive. I suppose we just have to concentrate on our own games.
We cannot afford to lose now.
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