Has the hype man treasurer been a big loss around the place?
Nowhere
You can forget about Armagh football
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Great to see that bunch of villains dumped out.
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I love INTERNET vindications.
A Saturday night Triller from the Tyrone champions.
That Lee Brennan point was a thing of beauty. It was like a Phil Mickelson flop shot up into the air from off the green which lands stone dead.
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Analysts asking about shot selection etc. I think I preferred when they asked âShur, ye must be delighted with the win?â
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What did he do? Canât make it out from the video.
Bit of a drive-by effort
Did you not watch it?
Must be hard for cross with half the club in jail.
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Was it an elbow to the back of the head?
Sad to see how far Crossmaglen how have fallen. That was a pathetic effort
The break up of their all conquering 2010-2013 teams came way too early and the generation gap was never bridged.
That team was seriously young but between drinking, travelling, injuries and prison, they more or less lost about 6 of them before they reached 25 or 26 years of age.
Big gap in age then to the OâNeills and Cian McConville.
PREMIUM
Joe Brolly: Corofinâs opponents are like an old man making love â it usually ends in anti-climax
Joe Brolly
November 11 2023 08:00 PM
Corofinâs opponents resemble an old man making love; he tries gamely enough, but it usually ends in anti-climax.
I have written to the editors of the Oxford English Dictionary on three occasions to ask them to include a new word in their next edition:
Corofin â to play the Irish field game of Gaelic football in a way that mesmerises the opposition and enthrals spectators. Sample sentence: âWho am I? Are these my feet? Who are you? Why am I in Croke Park? I think Iâve been corofined. I need a doctor.â Christopher McKaigue, Slaughtneil, Croke Park, March 17, 2015.
Watching them is like coming in from the pub in a good mood after a few Saturday evening jars, then settling down to enjoy Goal of the Month on the BBC, smiling and chuckling at the overhead kicks and lobs.
For a decade, they have been showing us how to save the game. Only no one is paying attention.
âIn last Sundayâs Galway final, their under 19s having been seamlessly merged with whatâs left of their magical All-Ireland winning teams, they âcorofinedâ Moycullen. On countless occasions, Moycullenâs normally fearsome defence was in position, or so they thought. Within seconds, the ball was over the bar or in the net.
Corofinâs goal exemplified their football. Liam Silke picked up Moycullenâs dangerous corner-forward Dessie Conneely from the throw-in. Dessie had been the top scorer in Galway up until then. Conneelyâs head was light chasing Silke up the pitch. Silke scored two points from play. When he took off soloing upfield again in the last quarter, there didnât seem to be any danger. He slalomed past one defender, then another. As he broke through, three Corofin men formed an attack squadron and ran through at different angles towards goal, pulling the defence every which way. Then, an inch-perfect handpass to Tony Gill, who passed it calmly to the net.
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They did not stick, even when they were six points up. Instead, as they always do, they continued to twist. In Corofin, they do not bore their way to victory, holding possession endlessly, going backwards, time wasting and all of the other prerequisites of âmodern footballâ.
In Corofin, like Crossmaglen, they abide by the sacred principle that the game is about entertainment and glory. That they owe a duty to their players, spectators and community to play the game the right way.
That unlike the vast majority of teams nowadays, who could play behind closed doors for all anyone really cares, that the game is owned by all of us. So, when every other team I can think of would have dawdled through the last 10 minutes, working it back to the âkeeper, playing donkey with the opposition, holding the ball and running the clock down (which Corofinâs expert skills are made for), they kept attacking and expressing themselves. This allowed Moycullen to score a goal in the 60th minute and come within three.
Even then, Corofin kept playing. What is the point in winning if it isnât fun? If you donât express yourselves and lift your community? So, their six-point lead with 10 minutes to go ended up only two points. Glory, not boredom.
None of this is by accident. The culture of this club is one of entertainment and adventure. A rule of thumb is that the kids need to be two-footed by the age of 14. Kicking with both feet is sewn into the training. It cannot and is not avoided or glossed over. The reason most kids donât kick with their weaker foot is because they are self-conscious. But when everybody is doing it, and being encouraged and applauded for doing it, there is nothing to be self-conscious about. This gives the kids an awareness of time and space and a culture which mandates self-expression. This explains why Corofinâs boys can play in almost any position. Last Sunday, their wing-back Kieran Molloy ended up at right corner-forward, from where he scored a wonderful point and caused havoc.
With Corofin, we see the peak of Gaelic football. Their underage nursery ensures that they keep big numbers. Who doesnât want to play football when it is played like this? Because they work so much on kicking and are encouraged to kick long when they see an opportunity, they do it automatically. They did things last Sunday that would enrage most coaches and prompt substitutions. Things that makes the rest of us smile and clap our hands.
Their movement was a thing of beauty. Again, this comes from an awareness of time and space, with each player switched on at all times, monitoring everything that is going on around them. Because they have grown up in a learning culture where risk is compulsory, they have learned the art of Gaelic football. The inside forwards watch each other, make dummy runs, move sideways and backwards, anticipate the second and even third pass. The effect of their movement and chemistry was that there was nothing Moycullen could do about them. The favourites were overwhelmed by a brand of football played only in this extraordinary parish.
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Watch their pre-match drills. All of this is in it. All of it is a pleasure to watch and, therefore, a pleasure to play. There are many other aspects to their play that make them what they are, but the culture is what allows them to perfect each of these.
âI was honoured to have been invited to their club several months ago to present their last two sets of All-Ireland club medals that they had forgotten to present (as you do). Kieran Fitzgerald, their legendary full-back, is now coaching the kids, concentrating on skills and spatial awareness.
One thing he works on constantly is the positioning of the defenders in front of their opponents and how they should modify their position as the attack advances. This is a small example of the learning culture that pervades the club.
Nothing they do is a miracle. Coaches can do this or decide not to play football and teach their players how to play in the third row of the blanket defence, how not to take risks, how to solo and how to handpass backwards. It is much easier to do the latter, which is why the game has fallen into boredom and disrepute.
But when one âcorofinsâ, everyone is a winner. Including the old manâs lover.
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A refreshingly open Leinster club hurling championship this year with Ballyhale absent. Cian Ă Tuama picking up Screeney. Thought Gorey might put an older/more physical defender on him to rough him up a bit. KK have started better.
Naomh Eanna like rabbits in headlights here. Fair strong wind behind them too
The amount of water splashing up off the ground is a farce.
Patsy will do well to last the full game here. The townies want a row more than a game
Kilcormac Killoughey appear to have a complete disdain for a sponsored jersey. The name plastered across the jersey is iconic at this stage. Gorey have settled a bit now.
Lively game. Kilcormac full back is very impressive.