felix
FRIDAY 15 JANUARY 2010
13
FEATURE
features.felix@imperial.ac.uk
GAELIC FOOTBALL IS A QUICKLY BUDDING GAME ON IMPERIAL’S SPORTS SCENE; IC GAELIC ATHLETIC CLUB BOASTS FULL ROSTERS FOR BOTH MENS’ AND LADIES’ TEAMS THIS YEAR. DAN WAN FOLLOWS THEM ON THEIR TOUR OF DUBLIN AND EVEN GETS STUCK IN HIMSELF
the first half, Team Captain Andrew Lavery and Ladies he Ladies’ team warm up prior to the match against and the Mens’ team deliberating tactics during half time.
TO GAELIC FOOTBALL
ike a cross between rugby and football. By hough beginning to become more and more rope. field with goals at either end like rugby he lower section. etween the posts over the crossbar) or a uivalent to three points. So a score line of irst team won by 13 to 7. kicking, fisting or a solo run which is a es bouncing the ball of your foot whilst
pick it clean up off the ground, the ball m the deck - another not so straightforward
not as heavy as rugby, a good match will o tackle the ball as opposed to the man but with a fair bit of that too. imilar but played with a wooden liotar’.
in turn, created several chances that could have evened out the scores. Imperial’s forwards also benefitted greatly from their team’s speedy play on the wings as they added to Imperial’s score with points of their own. Xenia Snetkov, Catherine Parkinson and Scarlett Gillespie were especially able to move forward and try their luck on goal several times throughout the 60 minutes, yielding a combined five points between them. The soloing pace of Sarah Jean and Jackie Fok out wide set up several attacks which resulted in points that Imperial desperately needed in the second half. Fok’s particularly impressive speed did her team many favours, allowing sporadic penetration of a well-ordered Trinity team. Afterwards, even the Trinity players conceded that during moments of the game, Imperial’s two quick wide players were a thorn in their side. Trinity never really ran away with the game despite being in command for most it. Imperial’s lack of experience transferred to periods of loss of concentration during the second half when Trinity glady notched the handful of points and few goals that won them the game. However, Imperial’s keeper in the second-half, Tabitha Skinner, had considerably less to do than O’Connell’s first- half, again thanks to Cullen’s individual unyielding performance keeping Trinity’s best County-level player in check. For a team that was only established this year, winning against one of Ireland’s most respected Ladies’ university teams was always to be a very tall order. Despite the defeat, Imperial put up an energetic fight that saw them largely mitigate a game led by their Irish counterparts. The Ladies’ 18-strong team is largely inexperienced in the game of football, with most of them taking up the sport as an entirely new experience. The next few months would concentrate on de-
veloping their game in time for February’s national championships held in Manchester; no doubt that the match in Dublin has taught them more than a term’s worth of training sessions could have. *
BOYS IN BLUE As for the men’s match, it was a much more even affair and resulted in a closely fought game either side could’ve won. The game started with an intense period of pressure from Trinity, with the Imperial defence and keeper being tested, but equal to almost every challenge. Jamie Sanders and Padhraic Comerford acquitted
“Imperial upped their game though and showed a will to win” themselves well in this period and were responsible for many clearances down the left and right wings respectively. Nevertheless Trinity managed to nab themselves a goal and three points to the good in this prolonged period of possession. The boys in blue were in no mood to lie down though with club talisman Danny Wilson providing the opener for Imperial after 20 minutes. Drawing on his soccer skills, Wilson half volleyed a loose ball straight into the back of the net, leaving the keeper no chance. The referee wasn’t as impressed however and overruled the legitimate score for an alleged foul moments before. The impetus was with Imperial now and the boys won two frees which Ruairi O’Neill ably converted from some distance. Halftime score 1-03 to 0-02 to Trinity. The second half began with Imperial retaining much more of the posses-
sion, despite the hangover from last night really beginning to take it’s toll. Their profligacy in the next 15 minutes would come back to haunt them as all but one of several scoring chances drifted agonisingly wide. The defence held strong though and worked hard to create chances for the forwards, but were cruelly caught out when a speculative looping effort from the Trinity half forward caught the underside of the bar and dropped in giving them the ascendancy that would be difficult to catch in the remaining time. Imperial upped their game though and showed a will to win, knocking over another free and a fine score from play by Rob Fitzpatrick. Trinity responded again and the frenetic display of counter attacking football from both teams was cheering up the cold supporters on the sidelines. In the final minutes Imperial were rewarded with a goal of their own as their half-forward thundered a shot on goal which the keeper somehow managed to initially block, but could not prevent a calmly-taken rebound reaching the back of the net. The final score read 2-07 to 1-04 to Trinity, although it was remarked by the hosts that the score line did flatter them somewhat. Imperial’s display of character to fight back despite going down early in the match certainly bodes well for their upcoming BUSA Championships. As I finish off this tour report, my inbox lights up and there is a new email from Andrew Lavery sent to all the players at IC GAC. He signs off in a manner that gives no indication that he plans to let up on his vision of making IC GAC one of Imperial’s most nationally successful teams. “Seriously lads, this is it. Last term was for messing about in the ‘League’ but this term is what playing Gaelic Football at IC is all about. 100% commitment and a Championship victory for the taking. It’s up to you now. See you at training, Lavery.”