Inside Track: Byrne takes a gamble and it pays a rich dividend
Inside Track with Joe Carroll
We don’t know if Declan Byrne bets on the horses or the dogs. Probably not. He’s never been spotted by Inside Track in a bookie’s office, nor watching them parade for a race at Dundalk Stadium.
But he must have some gambling instinct. If he hadn’t, the St Mochta’s No 11 would have gone for a point when his side was awarded a close-in free, very late on in Sunday’s county final.
Two points separated the sides, Newtown Blues showing in front. Tap it over and hope there’s enough time left to grab the equaliser. That was the opinion of the majority of those within earshot on the biggest of Drogheda Gaelic Grounds banks.
But, no, Byrne chose to take the ball outside the arc and try for a two-pointer. He was on form, succeeding with all of the frees he’d taken earlier. One of them was a two-pointer, with his tally standing at 0-8.
Maybe this is what influenced him to go for broke. He collected. As sweet a kick as you could wish to see, the ball sailed straight between the posts. Mochta’s were on terms, having trailed by five points at one stage inside the last quarter.
The action didn’t end there – the clock had passed 60 minutes, but there was time to be added. During it, Blues pieced an attack together, and were awarded a free.
This was further from goals than the one Byrne had converted, but Ciarán Downey still fancied his chances. His two-point attempt, however, fell short, and in the scramble that followed, Mochta’s won possession and cleared the danger.
After that Mochta’s found themselves in a promising situation, in with a squeak of engineering a winner. But the ball was cheaply given away, and within seconds the final whistle sounded.
The replay has been arranged for this Saturday afternoon, and, surprisingly, Drogheda has again been chosen as the venue. The last time Blues were involved in a draw at the Gaelic Grounds – against St Patrick’s, in 2011 – the replay was in St Brigid’s Park.
Post-final comment usually centres on the teams and individual performances, and this time there was lots to chew over in that regard – Byrne’s nerveless approach to that late free along with his performance in general, Conor Brannigan, Andy McDonnell, Emmet Carolan and Ross Nally’s contribution to the Blues’ cause, and Ben Goss-Kieran and Ciarán Byrne’s effort to keep Mochta’s in the game.
But it was referee, Stephen Johnston, who was mainly in focus. On a number of occasions in the last 20 minutes the Glen Emmets official penalised Blues by advancing the ball into a very scoreable position. It can only be assumed it was for something that had been said to him by either a player or official.
Blues also paid the penalty for a breach of the three-man-up rule, and on another occasion their goalie, Fiachra Dunne, was sanctioned for delaying his kick-out.
Each time Mochta’s benefitted with a score. Indeed, it was after the referee had brought the ball forward that Declan Byrne got the chance to level the match.
There’s no doubt these decisions had a big influence on the final result. Blues were moving into cruise control, five points clear, when they were first penalised for what the referee interpreted as indiscipline. The three-man-up rule was clearly broken, but when was it last seen, a goalkeeper being fined in the way Dunne was?
There were five occasions in the match that the sides were level, four in the first half and when the curtain came down. Mochta’s, playing with a slight breeze, weren’t good around goals in the early stages, passing up several good chances.
It looked as though they might pay for their wastage when Blues took charge after the break. With Conor Brannigan dictating most of the play around the middle of the field, and Andy McDonnell, Conor MacCríosta and Ross Nally giving Mochta’s backs no end of trouble, the sky-blues were good value for their five-point lead.
Brannigan, clearly disappointed when replaced in Blues’ semi-final with St Mary’s, bounced back in splendid fashion, claiming three points and helping to create others. His and the others’ effort was needed, especially since trump card, Ciarán Downey, had an off-day.
Mochta’s, a shadow of the team that ended Dundalk Gaels’ hopes in the quarter-finals and then routed St Joseph’s, will have to up their game if they are to bring Louth Village alive on Saturday night.
They played their get-out-of-jail on Sunday – this time, they can’t afford having to wait until just before the claxon sounds to get a result.