St Jarlath's were heartbreakingly unlucky to lose Hogan Cup final

By JIM CARNEY St Colman's, Newry ...........2-10 St Jarlath's, Tuam .............0-15 IT may be a cliché but sport, like life, can be almost unbearably cruel. The coveted Hogan Cup has been taken back in triumph to [private]Co. Down, after the victory of title-holders St Colman's, Newry over St Jarlath's, Tuam at Croke Park last Saturday but there is widespread sympathy for the gallant runners-up whose performance in defeat by the minimum margin was wonderfully skilful and spirited, of honest, wholehearted commitment, and a manifestation of all that is good about team sport â€â€ unity of purpose, pride in the jersey, 100 per cent effort, and the true spirit of sportsmanship. There was a kind of glory about the splendid display the Tuam school gave in this, their biggest test, but at the same tine a sense of crushing disappointment; it was heartbreaking for the young players and all involved with them, all of whom did a great job. It was heartbreaking, too, for the players' parents and families â€â€ from the Cusack Stand they watched with bated breath as the drama unfolded, and at the final whistle they also were shattered. For a little over an hour's hard, fast, exciting and often tense endeavour, they had caught and kicked every ball with their sons and brothers, and when it was all over it was devastating to have lost. The dream had died. So near, so agonisingly near, and yet so far. In the rival camp, Northern joy was unconfined. It was the Violet Hill, Newry team's biggest ever day, their second successive Hogan Cup victory, to match the achievement of St Jarlath's in 1960/61. Three in a row has been elusive for all contenders, even St Jarlath's with their magnificent record of 12 All-Ireland (A grade) S.F.C. victories between 1947 and 2002, but now as they move on to eight titles on the Roll of Honour the Down school will be looking forward eagerly to a tilt at the Three-in-a-Row in 2012, although it's believed that, with most of this year's starting XV not there next year, they may not be strong enough to emerge from their own provincial campaign. St Jarlath's will have one-third of their 2011 first-choice team available to try again next year, and possibly a few 'repeats,' but this week it'll feel that's a long time into the future. But it'll come around quickly enough; a fall is always painful, but there's always a chance to get up on the horse again, although for most of them it would be with other teams. Every member of this gallant St Jarlath's team, who played their All-Ireland final with massive courage as well as ability, would deserve another day to make sporting dreams come true, for our hearts went out to them at Croke Park last Saturday as they left all they had in them, of their commitment and their spirit, out on the famous green sward. They died with their boots on. No greater tribute could be paid to them. It could have been very different: St Jarlath's could have won this final, and they were undoubtedly unlucky not to have scored two goals, and were unlucky to come out the wrong side of a couple of late calls by the referee â€â€ one vital Newry pointed free, in particular. But in a cold, clinical analysis of this game, leaving aside the emotion of the occasion from a Galway point of view â€â€ although that's difficult to do â€â€ I wouldn't quite go so far as to say that St Jarlath's were the better team, for they neither started nor finished the game as well as their opponents. To 'win' the long period in between was admirable and spoke volumes about the football ability and character of the Tuam students, but the winners can say, and nobody can dispute it, that they did their stuff when it mattered most, and that ultimately when it came to climbing the mountain they were first to the top and won the right to plant the victory flag on the summit. We offered the view here last week that the St Colman's, Newry 'boy wonder' Caolan Mooney couldn't be expected to score two goals in every game, as he'd done in the Ulster final and All-Ireland semi-final back-to-back. But he still made a major contribution last Saturday, both in general play and on the scoreboard, although he was, at best, the third top performer on the day. St Jarlath's had the two outstanding players: Shane Walsh, Man of the Match, and Adrian Varley, also brave, brilliant and heroic, and perhaps the injury which knocked Adrian out of the action at a crucial time late in the game may have cost his team the chance to engineer a match-saving goal in the closing stages; he was that influential, his loss was incalculable. Fighting back from conceding two early goals, scored by Newry right full-forward Jack Haughey in the 4th minute and full-forward Jerome Johnston seven minutes later, it was a huge achievement for St Jarlath's to have cut the deficit to two points by half-time, 2-4 to 0-8. Captain Ian Burke crashed a mighty drive off the crossbar in the 13th minute but he was right to go for it; Adrian Varley was on fire at full-forward and later at midfield; Shane Walsh was about to give one of the all-time great Hogan Cup performances, pointing frees from the ground with both feet â€â€ like Maurice Fitzgerald of Kerry in the Sam Maguire Cup victory over Mayo in 1997 â€â€ and the St Jarlath's right full-forward Seán Silke would bring the first half to a close with three spectacular, brilliantly kicked points from play. It was great football to watch, technically of a fantastic standard, but what a pity for St Jarlath's that the half-time whistle came at all! They did not want that break, but Newry did! It's not possible to record what happened in every minute of the second half but St Jarlath's drove on powerfully from their second-quarter excellence, with Shane Walsh going from strength to strength; Adrian Varley everywhere, the backs all playing their hearts out â€â€ Patrick Glynn was particularly prominent in the first half and Daniel Collins settled really well after his opponent struck for the first goal â€â€ while an inspirational score came when centre half-back Adrian Nolan knifed through the middle of the field to hit a magnificent point from play, into the Canal End of the ground. Then the game was won and lost. Statistics are cold and impersonal, but they often tell the real story: St Jarlath's did not score from deep into the 42nd minute to the 62nd minute. So, from leading by two points twelve minutes into the second half, 0-14 to 2-6, St Jarlath's scored only one more point, two minutes into injury-time. St Colman's, in contrast, added four points to their tally, to win the match and keep the Hogan Cup for at least another twelve months. But â€â€ and it's a big but â€â€ one of those four points came from a Newry free that was a desperately close call: Caolan Mooney was attacking the Tuam goal with three or four opponents closing in on him, and he was given a free which he pointed. A replay on the big screen, shown immediately, left the crowd wondering where the foul was. In fairness, St Jarlath's did get one soft free in the first half â€â€ a Newry defender had been pushed seconds earlier, and that free was pointed. But that kind of decision in the first half of any game is never considered crucial, unlike its importance late in a game. That's the nature of these things in sport. Crucially too, with St Jarlath's cruelly denied the services of the lionhearted Adrian Varley by injury, they weren't able to win a late Newry kick-out that might have got them on the attack for a last-gasp equaliser and extra-time. That high catch was made, splendidly, by the winning captain Connor Gough. It was simply heartbreaking. To think back to Ian Burke hitting the crossbar early on, Shane Walsh just over rather than under the bar in the second half, Adrian Varley's injury. Afterwards the St Jarlath's manager Joe Burke, who also gave it his all, to his immense credit, summed it up when he said on Galway Bay fm that his team left everything they had out on the pitch, and he was hugely proud of them. He also praised Newry for their winning performance, which also was admirable. Two final thoughts: sport is fiercely competitive and that's how we all like it. St Jarlath's were truly great on the big occasion last Saturday but they didn't win. That disappointment must be used to put steel into their souls, those of them who'll be there to try again next year. And it is only right to hope, and feel, that there will always be another day for your dreams to come true. St Colman's: M. McNeice; D. Brannigan, N. Donnelly, R. Lively; S. McArdle (0-1), E. Magee, K. Haughey; R. Johnston (0-1), C. Gough, captain; C. Doyle, P. Casey, C. Mooney (0-6, four frees); J. Haughey (1-0), J. Johnston (1-2, 0-2 frees), T. McGreevy. St Jarlath's: James Healy (Annaghdown); Cathal Mulryan (Cortoon Shamrocks), Conor Cunningham (Corofin), Daniel Collins (Corofin); Patrick Glynn (Dunmore MacHales), Adrian Nolan (Killererin, 0-1), Paul Varley (Cortoon Shamrocks); Gearóid Armstrong (Salthill-Knocknacarra), Liam Silke (Corofin); Shane Walsh (Kilkerrin-Clonberne, 0-9, six frees), Ian Burke, captain (Corofin), Conor McNamara (Corofin); Seán Silke (Corofin, 0-3), Adrian Varley (Cortoon Shamrocks, 0-2), Michael McWalters (Milltown). Subs., Martin Farragher (Corofin), for Armstrong; Cathal Óg Coen (Annaghdown), for McWalters; Seán O'Boyle (Corofin), for Adrian Varley, inj. (55 mins); Cathal Slattery (Kinvara), for McNamara. Referee: Maurice Deegan (Laois). Herald Sport Man of the Match: Shane Walsh (St Jarlath's).[/private]