1. Geraldine McLaughlin’s one-woman show
IN WHAT HAS been a disappointing year for Donegal football teams in All-Ireland finals, Termon – specifically their captain Geraldine McLaughlin – put things right today with a phenomenal performance against Cork’s Mourneabbey in the Tesco Homegrown Ladies senior club ladies football final in Tuam.
Having already amassed a 22-27 in six championship outings to date, McLaughlin saved her best for the biggest stage of all scoring 3-8 – including just 0-4 from frees – of Termon’s 3-12, enough on it’s own to beat Mourneabbey’s 1-13.
Not that McLaughlin was keen to dwell on her own heroics, instead praising the Termon defenders who limited the prolific Laura Fitzgerald to just one second half point after she scored half a dozen in the first.
“I don’t count what I score. It’s about the team. To win with your family, your parish, is unbelievable. It’ll be a Bank Holiday for the week in Termon.”
And isn’t that what it’s all about?
2. What might have been for The Nire
With eight minutes gone in Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Waterford’s The Nire were leading Austin Stacks by 1-3 to no score and completely outplaying the Kerry champions.
By the 15th minute – and despite conceding a goal – their lead was four points and they knew they’d be facing 14-men for the remaining 45 minutes of the game after Shane Carroll received his marching orders.
They scored just once more – a second half Michael Moore goal – in the game.
Stacks were no great shakes themselves and, as they did in the semi-final against Ballincollig, got better as the game went on. But, when you hold a team – particularly a team with the attacking weapons of Kieran Donaghy, David Mannix and the aforementioned Carroll to just eight scores in a game, you expect to win.
Sadly for the Nire, it is Stacks who go forward to the All-Ireland club SFC semi-finals despite their below-par performance.
3. Slaughtneil’s never say die attitude
Despite conceding a very early goal, for large periods of the first half in Armagh’s Athletic Grounds, it looked like Omagh were going to be the ones to pick up their maiden Ulster SFC title.
Barry Tierney’s goal just before the break gave the Tyrone champions a deserved three point lead at half time and, when Tierney added a point almost straight from throw-in in the second half, Omagh fans would have been forgiven for looking forward to a place in the final four.
However, credit must go to Derry champions Slaughtneil for never quitting on this game, particularly half-forward Christopher Bradley who scored three of his four points in the second half, including the game winner in the 62nd minute.
Considering the circumstances – this was their first senior provincial final – that late score took tremendous bottle.
4. The mystery of the black card continues
You would think at this stage referees and their officiating crew would understand what indiscretions the black card was supposed to be issued for but, alas, no.
On several occasions today – particularly, it must be said, in the Munster SFC final – more of than not a yellow card was brandished even when a foul was clearly cynical such as pulling down an opponent.
Worse still, a number of times no card was issued meaning that, as the games progressed, they became scrappier with teams hoping they could get away with fouls they probably should have been punished for.
5. What the fog is going on?
Common sense won the day in the end but there’s no way the Offaly MHC final should have started given the conditions in the Faithful County today.
