Tough start for team against odds
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AWAY TO Waterford for our first League of Ireland game of the season was never going to be easy; a half an hour into the game, it looked a long way from easy.
If it was a practice game, we would not have started David Breen, Anthony Wolfe or Anthony Russell who all had problems going into the game. We conceded a poor early goal from a defensive point of view, Anto Wolfe went off with his injury, and we lost Warren Broaders when he got a red card, a harsh decision by Graham Kelly who was some distance from the incident.
Surprisingly, we still managed to do well with ten men for the remainder of the half. Shane Dempsey and Danny Furlong came very close to scoring but it was mapped out before then that it wasn't going to be our night.
Waterford grabbed a second goal early in the second period and it was game over. A tough start for a team that was always fighting against the odds, but such is life. Waterford will certainly push for promotion this season; they have a lot of strong players and possess experience in depth.
In contrast, the Youths have just a handful of experienced individuals and we must look to them to help bring our young local players up to the mark. It takes time and it's not easy but I remain optimistic that we can punch above our weight in this division once again this season.
Well done to the Wexford League's Oscar Traynor squad who qualified for the semi-final with a superb win over Dublin's A.U.L. on Saturday. It would be a fantastic achievement to win the competition and it is hoped that the squad of players will give John Godkin and John Flood the same commitment off the field for the next few months as they gave on the field of play against the A.U.L., in order to win it out.
Next Sunday at 2 p.m. sees our first home game of the season when we take on Shelbourne which is another huge challenge and promises to be a good battle. We do need the support of the public in our efforts to continue to have League of Ireland football in the county; a big crowd on Sunday would certainly give the club a lift.
The previous day, the Youths Under-18s take on Shelbourne in Dublin in the last 16 of the Leinster Youths Cup - another big test. The human spirit grows from such challenges in life.
