Ratoath All Ireland Intermediate Sevens

blackbelt

Thought I'd report back on the intermediate sevens which I refereed at the weekend.

First and foremost I'd like to congratulate Ratoath GAA club on a successful competition which was really well run.Seán Eiffe Park is a gorgeous facility and was very appropriate and suitable for the competition.The pitches were well laid out and the clubhouse and dressing rooms were top notch

I left Dublin at 8.45 and we arrived in good time to check out the club and the fixtures and we were briefed at 10am.

26 clubs participated with 4 groups of 4 and 2 groups of 5,one of these groups I refereed included Redhills (Cavan),Clonmel Óg (Tipperary),St Patricks Cullyhanna (Armagh),St Kevins (Kildare) and St Molaise Gaels (Sligo).

I refereed 7 games in total.My first game was Redhills v St Patricks Cullyhanna at 10.30.This game was a very fast paced game for an opening round match and Brian McConville (brother of Oisin) was a very dominant figure in all the games I refereed where St Pats were involved.The first game ended in a draw and these two teams would ultimately progress through to the quarters with St Kevins entering as wild cards.St Patricks went on to hammer Clonmel Óg and then earn a one point victory over St Kevins after a poor start.

Before I refereed St Patricks against St Molaise Gaels (Sligo),Christy Cooney came over to us personally to say hello and encourage us for doing a good job.The funny thing about it was that he was there standing behind me as I turned to consult the pitch co-ordinator.Christy is a gentleman and he was very nice towards the officials and he had no arrogance or self importance complex about him.

St Patricks went on to record a narrow 2 point win against St Molaise Gaels.Then I went off to referee Celebrity Bainisteoir Winners Maryland (minus Marty Whelan) against St Farnans (Sligo).Maryland went on to win comfortably 4-15 to 4-05.

After lunch in the lovely clubhouse,I refereed Oliver Plunketts Greenlough (Derry) against Redhills (Cavan) in the last 16.Redhills have a few Cavan intercounty players on the panel I was led to believe.Greenlough went on to win by a few points.Their number 1 Sean McCaineall (sp?) was superb throughout and was creating ripples through the tournament by exhibiting sheer strength to burst through teams and get scores starting from his own goal line and taking calculating risks.

The next round was the quarter finals and I was down to referee St Patricks Cullyhanna (Armagh) v Trillick (Tyrone) in another Ulster face-off.This was my third All Ulster game.Trillick contained All Ireland Medal Winner Conor Gormley and so it came to pass that we a McConville versus Conor Gormley match.This game was very tight and scores were at a premium.Both teams hit an amount of wides especially St Patricks Cullyhanna who hit more than Trillick and ultimately paid for it at the final whistle when Trillick narrowly won.

At the meeting after the quarter finals,I had the honour of doing the draw for the semi-finals and I had pulled out of the hat Maryland v Trillick while Greenlough (Derry) were pitted against St Brigids (Offaly).I was selected to referee the first semi-final between Maryland and Trillick.The games were now being held on the main pitch and I reckon I was refereeing in front of 300 people which would be the biggest crowd yet I have refereed in front of.The setup became more and more professional with scorebards and P.A systems.

The game itself was a gem.Maryland and Trillick produced some stunning football at a fast pace and the crowd was really into it.The momentum swung back and forth and it looked like Trillick were going to get revenge on the defeat Maryland gave to them in the group stage but Maryland worked hard to get some points back and equalise a minute before the end.The score at full time was Maryland 3-08 Trillick 2-11

It was decided that the game would go into penalties (best of three).With tired legs,bodies and minds,it was now becoming a situation of mental toughness.Both teams missed their 1st two penalties before Maryland struck beautifully into the left hand side of the goal.Trillicks last penalty was saved magnificentally over the bar and Maryland were in the final.This game was the finest game and highlight of my refereeing days so far.

Greenlough went on to hammer St Brigids in the other semi final and I took the opportunity to get togged out in the meantime as I was pretty sore and tired from refereeing a total of 3 hours of football.

It was great to come back out and see the kids playing on the pitches mingling and playing football with other kids of different counties and taking shots on goals.A good friend of mine who seemed to get bored at the intervals fitted right in goal.:)

The final between Maryland and Greenlough threw in at around 6.45.This game was refereed by my mentor Paddy Power and it was great to cap off the tournament with tradition by playing Amhrán Na BhFiann before the game.The game was a tight affair until Maryland pulled away in the middle third with 3 spectacular goals.However,despite going down by 5,Greenlough scored some fine points and got some nice goals of their own and at one stage they pulled level to put the game in the melting pot until Maryland scored 2 points.They weathered the pressure of a Greenlough last gasp attack in front of goal but Maryland hung on for the win and were crowned deserving All Ireland Intermediate Champions.

The official presentations were in the clubhouse and St Oliver Plunketts Greenlough's number 1 was chosen as the player of the competition by agreement of the referees.Despite conceding some goals in the final,any decent goalkeeper probably would not have been able to save those shots and even Connaughton,Cluxton,Buffon or Packie Bonner would have had trouble with them.His surging runs were the highlight of many matches right up to the final.

I didn't get home til 9pm that night and my legs felt like cement blocks and my back angry at me but it was worth every inch of aching muscle,bone and blister.I'm looking forward to next years sevens already.:cool::cool:

Hammer Archer

Ah you were on my pitch I was doing umpire on that pitch.
You were the ref that got surrounded in the St. Kevins - Saint Pat's game after (quite correctly) awarding a free for a pickup off the ground in the large square. Don't think the players really knew it was only a free kick offence. Thought you did a fantastic job refereeing the games I saw (as did all the referees).
The Maryland Trillick knockout game was a terrific game alright. I think both teams were equally the best teams in the tournament.
It's the second year of the tournament and although we didn't have the fantastic weather of last year, I had a fantastic time helping out. The only bad note was when our scoreboard went on the blink :pac:
Can't wait for next year either.

blackbelt

Hammer Archer wrote: »

Ah you were on my pitch I was doing umpire on that pitch.
You were the ref that got surrounded in the St. Kevins - Saint Pat's game after (quite correctly) awarding a free for a pickup off the ground in the large square. Don't think the players really knew it was only a free kick offence. Thought you did a fantastic job refereeing the games I saw (as did all the referees).
The Maryland Trillick knockout game was a terrific game alright. I think both teams were equally the best teams in the tournament.
It's the second year of the tournament and although we didn't have the fantastic weather of last year, I had a fantastic time helping out. The only bad note was when our scoreboard went on the blink :pac:
Can't wait for next year either.

I'd also like to thank you for your help during the games.The umpiring was excellent and I couldn't have asked for a more decisive,quick abd accurate group of umpires.

Yes I was the ref who was confronted upon correctly awarding a free in resulting from the pickup.:D Some St Kevins players (not all) thought it was/should've been a penalty.The pickup was a technical foul inside the large rectangle and as St Kevins were 2 down at the dying stages,they were anxious to get a penalty and win the game.

The referees and pitch co-ordinators confirmed I was right and informed St Kevins.We later joked about sending St Kevins a copy of the rules of the game.:) In fairness,most of the Kevins team came up to me upon being notified and thanked me and were pretty cool about it.

I'd love if some of the games were filmed and shown on tv as part of a program to show how good and successful the sevens competitions are.

Trillick and Maryland were the best teams throughout.Greenlough were also incredible and their no.1 was player of the competition.Maybe he is worth a look in for Derry.

The weather was good for the most part although that drizzle at the group stages was annoying and before lunch I thought I'd get soaked.Thankfully the day ended well with the sun coming out for the knockout stages.

Are you with Ratoath GAA Club Hammer Archer?

Hammer Archer

I don't play for a team anymore as I don't have the time with college and whatnot but I help out with championship games held in Ratoath when needed.
Hopefully when I'm finished college I can get back into training.