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Kingspan Breffni Park in Cavan. Laszlo Geczo/INPHO
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Derry club lose their place in Ulster championship following 'pitch switch' controversy

Derry LGFA has slammed the treatment of Steelstown Brian Ógs as ‘deeply hurtful’ after the club withdrew from their Ulster intermediate semi-final this week.

A DERRY CLUB have been eliminated from the Ulster LGFA intermediate club championship after they did not fulfil their semi-final fixture in controversial circumstances this week.

The Ulster LGFA Council voted unanimously last night to award a walkover victory to Castlerahan/Denn of Cavan and to eliminate Steelstown Brian Ógs of Derry.

The sides had been scheduled to meet on Wednesday night, leaving Brian Ógs to manage a three-day turnaround following their win in the quarter-finals last Sunday.

Wednesday’s game was originally fixed for Templeport in Cavan but after the pitch was deemed unplayable, the final-four tie was switched to Breffni Park’s 3G surface.

A report in the Derry Journal reads that Brian Ógs had more than a five-hour journey for that game and that the club received notification of the venue change just four hours before the scheduled 7.30pm throw-in.

Although many of the Brian Ógs players did not have appropriate footwear for the artificial pitch, the club was reportedly warned that the game would be forfeited if they failed to fulfil the fixture.

Brian Ógs withdrew from the match and returned home, while the Castlerahan/Denn team lined out for the game and scored a goal from the throw-in to effectively prevail.

Delegates at the Emergency Ulster LGFA Council meeting on Thursday voted unanimously in favour of awarding victory to Castlerahan/Denn, who will now progress to the provincial decider. 

Anglo Celt / YouTube

In a statement issued earlier on Thursday, Derry LGFA hit out at the treatment of the club. 

“The Derry LGFA executive wish to express our deep regret at the hurdles Steelstown Brian Ogs Senior Ladies Football team have had to scale in their Ulster Intermediate club series run the past fortnight and more so in the events of the past 24 hours,” their statement read.

“Narrowly beaten in the final of last years Ulster Intermediate Final they dusted themselves down, regrouped and worked harder than ever to put themselves back in contention for the 2022 Ulster club intermediate title.

“To see pictures of Ulster officials standing on a 3G pitch last night knowing that the Steelstown team would not be fielding shared widely on social media was deeply hurtful and insensitive. As were other unnecessary pictures and posts on social media. Players are only human, club coaches are for the most part volunteers.

“The passion for ladies football burns brightly in all our active clubs and schools across North and South Derry. At county level we are trying very hard. Every year the playing numbers increase across all age groups, more clubs start the code and while success might be slower than other counties in Ulster every small gain deserves the same respect.

“We are well aware of the magnitude of the climb in this county but have been heartened by the Steelstown Brian Og journey the last few years. They have been an inspirational driving force to all our young girls footballers in the county.

“We hope that Ulster Ladies Council reflect on the unrealistic expectations they placed on this senior ladies team in the last 2 weeks.

“The central ethos of any GAA code should always be to do everything possible to enhance, support and protect the players. Never make it any harder to achieve success than it already is.”

Tonight the Steelstown Brian Ógs GAA club released a statement, expressing their frustration and disappointment over the situation.

They criticised the Ulster LGFA for letting down the players and revealed they ‘are saddened at the devastating impact’ it has had on the players.

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